Growth of Methanogens on a Mars Soil Simulant Under Simulated Martian Conditions

Abstract

Due to the hostile conditions at the surface, any life forms existing on Mars today would most likely inhabit a subsurface environment where conditions are potentially wetter and warmer, but organic compounds may be lacking and light energy for photosynthesis would be absent. Methanogens, members of the domain Archaea, are microorganisms from planet Earth that can grow under these relatively extreme conditions. We have demonstrated that certain methanogenic species can indeed grow on a Mars soil simulant, JSC Mars-1, with limited amounts of water, under conditions approaching a possible subsurface environment on Mars.