Impact of perchlorates on radiation tolerance of microorganisms from Mars-analogues sites

Abstract

Assessing the habitability of Mars and detecting life depends on knowledge of whether the combined environmental stresses experienced on Mars are compatible with life. Such stresses would be radiation, desiccation and high perchlorate concentrations. The results of this evaluation are limited by a lack of knowledge on the combined effects of different environmental stresses. In particular, many combinations of stress, such as high radiation combined with an absence of water and the presence of perchlorates have not been investigated. For this Test five anaerobic isolates from Mars-analogue sites were used. [...]