Unfortunately, life on other planets has not yet been found but astronomers and astrobiologists are constantly working to find any signs of it in our solar system and beyond. One of the most investigated worlds is our neighbor, Mars. While evidence has not yet been found, there have been discoveries that lead some to believe that life could be (or once was) on the red planet. But what would life on Mars look like? It surely wouldn’t be humans, or most animals we have on Earth. Instead, life on Mars would likely be full of extremophiles. Extremophiles are tiny organisms that have adapted to live in the craziest of conditions. On Mars, we know that there are extremely high levels of radiation and extremely low temperatures so an organism would have to endure both of those. Recent experiments have shown that the microbe colloquially known as “Conan the Bacterium” (Deinococcus radiodurans) would be able to survive these radiation levels as well as survive extremely cold temperatures. As the bacterium would be under the surface of the planet, the experiment also tested this and determined that Conan the Bacterium would be able to live up to 280 million years if buried 10 meters underground. This is all super intriguing for extraterrestrial life and future explorations into our Solar System. Maybe we aren’t alone out here after all?!
Julian's Solar System Blog 
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