Bad News for Musk: Earthly microbes could turn deadlier on Mars, spelling doom for astronauts
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Bad News for Musk: Earthly microbes could turn deadlier on Mars, spelling doom for astronauts")
Mars will turn microbes from Earth even more deadly and pathogenic.
A study shows that Mars might provide a supportive environment for microbes that will reach the Red Planet with the astronauts. They will become deadlier and even more pathogenic, spelling doom for humans hoping to live on Mars one day.
Humans are trying to ascertain how to live and survive on Mars, a planet some think is the future of humanity. Whether that turns out to be true or not, a study has shown that this would at least be true for the microbes that reach the Red Planet from Earth. Scientists say disease-causing microbes that live in and on the human body will not only survive but also thrive on Mars. Tommaso Zaccaria of Radboud University in the Netherlands writes in a thesis, "Evaluating how microorganisms respond and tolerate space conditions is essential to ensure the safe access and exploration of space."
His paper mentions four pathogens which were added to a simulated Martian environment in the laboratory. There was extremely low pressure, dryness, high ultraviolet radiation and a high concentration of salty water with the highly toxic substance perchlorate. The microbes were tested in each of these environments, and Zaccaria found that some of the microbes survived. Some of them were able to live for 16 days in desiccation, the extreme dry conditions.
Microbes could find a saviour in Martian regolith
When all of the conditions were combined, the survival of the microbes dropped from 16 days to only one. However, this is not the whole truth. Martian regolith, or the soil, might actually support the growth of microbes since small amounts of water hide in there. Microbes could also use the soil to hide from the ultraviolet radiation. But the regolith also has perchlorate, an extremely toxic substance.
The initial part of the experiment showed that the microbes shrank and became almost invisible to human immune systems. They were exposed to a human immune cell called peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in another experiment, where the cells produced fewer cytokines and reactive oxygen species. Some of the bacteria survived by adapting to the cells. This could potentially make them even more pathogenic or deadly. This would spell doom for astronauts hoping to live on Mars someday.
Effects of Martian soil on human health
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Zaccaria also tested the effects of regolith on human health and found that the cells experienced local tissue inflammation and neutrophilia. This happened because of tissue damage, which resulted in increased white blood cell activity. Some signs seen before chronic respiratory disease also emerged. "The studies of this thesis have shown how the selected microorganisms can tolerate space conditions," the thesis reads. The study is vital in showing how pathogens from Earth could become deadlier on Mars.
