Microbial life on Mars: Could saltwater make it possible?

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—How common are droplets of saltwater on Mars' Could microbial life survive and reproduce in them' A new million-dollar NASA project led by the University of Michigan aims to answer those questions. This project begins three years after beads of liquid brine were first photographed on one of the Mars Phoenix lander's legs. "On Earth, everywhere there's liquid water, there is microbial life," said Nilton Renno, a professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences who is the principal investigator. Researchers from NASA, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Georgia and the Centro de Astrobiologia in Madrid are also involved. Scientists in the United States will create Mars conditions in lab chambers and study how and when brines form. These shoe-box-sized modules will have wispy carbon dioxide and water vapor atmospheres with 99 percent lower air pressure than the average pressure on Earth at sea level. Temperatures will range from -100 to -80 Fahrenheit and will be adjusted to mimic daily and seasonal cycles.