Mars after the Viking missions - Is life still possible?

Details Mars after the Viking missions - Is life still possible? Mars after the Viking missions - Is life still possible?

Jun 1991

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991icar...91..199t&link_type=abstract

Icarus (ISSN 0019-1035), vol. 91, June 1991, p. 199-206.

Biology

6

Exobiology, Extraterrestrial Life, Mars (Planet), Ecosystems, Mars Atmosphere, Planetary Meteorology, Viking Mars Program

Scientific paper

A plausible model is presented for the Martian ecology which proceeds from the supposition of an endolithic character for Martian life, rendering it invisible to the Viking ecology experiments conducted to date. Rather than employing chlorophyll for photosynthesis, the endolithic primary biota of Mars may employ a compound that draws on the high UV flux found on Mars; this may be used directly, or after conversion through fluorescence into a photosynthetically useful wavelength. The model, which has its bases in observations of the endolithic microbiota which have been discovered in the dry valleys of Antarctica, is combined with a previously developed Martian climate model involving passage through both ice ages and mild periods over geologic time.

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