Re:Fungi on Mars? Evidence of Growth and Behavior from Seque...
by tsimionescu on Friday May 07, 2021 @04:14AM
(#27073588)
> So it's entirely possible that fungi could survive on Mars while trees/moss/grass could not
Nope, there is no real chance to find fungi living at -50C to -70C, with no liquid water. There is no life on Earth that lives at such low temperatures, and there is no way for life as we know it to work without liquid water (or perhaps other liquid solvents, though that is highly speculative).
Also note, fungi in particular can't deal with extreme cold, the coldest I've read about any kinds of fungi living is ~0C. There are bacteria and other prokaryotes that survive at temperatures below that, but even then only at high pressures that allow liquid water to exist at very low temperatures - whereas Mars has extremely low pressure, much lower than anyone on the Earth's surface (Martian atmospheric pressure is comparable to Earth's upper atmosphere).
Nope, there is no real chance to find fungi living at -50C to -70C, with no liquid water. There is no life on Earth that lives at such low temperatures, and there is no way for life as we know it to work without liquid water (or perhaps other liquid solvents, though that is highly speculative).
Also note, fungi in particular can't deal with extreme cold, the coldest I've read about any kinds of fungi living is ~0C. There are bacteria and other prokaryotes that survive at temperatures below that, but even then only at high pressures that allow liquid water to exist at very low temperatures - whereas Mars has extremely low pressure, much lower than anyone on the Earth's surface (Martian atmospheric pressure is comparable to Earth's upper atmosphere).