Astrobiologist: Viking 1 May Have Killed Martian Life

Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch from Technische Universität Berlin posits that NASA's Viking 1 mission may have inadvertently killed Martian life during its 1976 experiments by adding water to soil samples. Contrary to the traditional belief that life on Mars would require liquid water akin to Earth, Schulze-Makuch suggests that Martian microbes might survive in extremely dry conditions by extracting moisture from atmospheric salts. This theory draws parallels with Earth's Atacama Desert, where organisms thrive by absorbing atmospheric moisture through salts, yet are vulnerable to excess water. Schulze-Makuch argues for a shift in the search for Martian life, advocating for a focus on hydrated and hygroscopic compounds instead of solely following water. His commentary, published in Nature Astronomy, challenges the assumption that water is a universal requisite for life and calls for future missions to account for Mars' unique ecology. These insights urge reconsideration of past methodologies and the design of future experiments aimed at detecting life on Mars.