Re:Common yeast can survive Martian conditions
by MattPalmer1086 on Thursday October 23, 2025 @05:52AM
(#45680083)
The point is not to put yeast on Mars. The research isn't part of some terraforming or settlement program.
It is to understand whether Mars conditions are inimical to life entirely. Turns out that some common modern earth life forms can survive Mars like conditions.
That is interesting in and of itself and raises further questions on why life doesn't appear to have existed or survived on Mars today. It's just science, making small steps in our understanding of the universe.
Re:Common yeast can survive Martian conditions
by nertirs1 on Thursday October 23, 2025 @04:46AM
(#45679673)
I imagine it is related to the first step of colonizing mars, which is figuring out the most efficient way to terraform mars.
Re:Common yeast can survive Martian conditions
by philipwhiuk on Thursday October 23, 2025 @04:45AM
(#45679667)
If your hab blows out it would be ideal if not everything died immediately.
This here is odd because it seems to follow a "life must be everywhere". I never understood this. Aka NASA wants to find life elsewhere, but ... why? Life is already here and evolution occurs. See dinosaur. So, adaptability is an intrinsic property. Why does it have to be shown that yeast can adapt to martian conditions? Do we want to grow yeast on mars? And if the question is humans on mars, why would yeast matter? The conditions do not allow humans to live on mars, unless sheltered. Even genetically modified humans will most likely not be able to live on mars freely. The temperature alone makes this impossible:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars#Temperature
You'd need to be in a suit all of the time or in some building with higher temperature. Mars is not Earth. What is the point of having some bacteria or yeast on mars?