How habitable is Mars? A new view of the Viking experiments

Almost 40 years ago, two NASA probes on the surface of Mars scooped the soil in search of signs of microbes. The results that came back from the twin Viking missions were, to say the least, ambiguous. The scientific literature ...

Archaeons shown to thrive on fireworks ingredient

(Phys.org) —A new study in the Netherlands has found a deep-sea microbe living in high-temperature hydro-thermal vents can thrive on chlorate and perchlorate anions. Perchlorate, an ingredient in rocket fuel and fireworks, ...

Toxic threat from perchlorate plume slowly recedes

Ten years ago, community leaders were shocked by the discovery that a company that manufactured road flares here had disposed of toxic chemicals improperly, creating a 10-mile-long underground plume of perchlorate, a chemical ...

Microbial oasis discovered beneath the Atacama Desert

Two metres below the surface of the Atacama Desert there is an 'oasis' of microorganisms. Researchers from the Center of Astrobiology (Spain) and the Catholic University of the North in Chile have found it in hypersaline ...

US to regulate rocket fuel chemical in water

The US government said Wednesday it plans to limit the amount of perchlorate, a chemical found in rocket fuel, explosives and bleach, that is present in the drinking water of millions of Americans.

Viking landers did detect organics on Mars

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1976 the NASA Viking landers took samples of soil on Mars and tested them for signs of organic carbon. A reinterpretation of the results now suggests the samples did contain organic compounds, but the ...

Missing piece inspires new look at Mars puzzle

(PhysOrg.com) -- Experiments prompted by a 2008 surprise from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander suggest that soil examined by NASA's Viking Mars landers in 1976 may have contained carbon-based chemical building blocks of life.

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