Surviving Life on Mars

Even within those regions, you have to figure out which spots are best since a lander will have limited time and resources compared to the open wilds of Mars. One approach is to culture DR in Mars simulations on Earth.

"We are restricted in the search for life right now to Earth-based microbes," Richmond explained. "We have to ask, What are the restraints on life that those microbes will have to surmount in order to plausibly exist on other planets?"

Extremophile habitats on Earth cover a range of conditions: temperatures near boiling or below freezing; a nearly total lack of water, or water that ranges from alkaline to acidic or salty; non-carbon foods; and a lack of oxygen. One of the tricks that less durable lifeforms use to survive such tough times is to hibernate as spores.

"The restraints become temporal, too," Richmond explained. "Dormancy has to carry on for thousands or millions of years" if a life form is to last until conditions on Mars become hospitable for growth, somewhat like the floral seeds waiting in the desert for the rare fall of rain.

And that's where radiation resistance comes in handy. While radiation issues are usually associated with nuclear power or exposure to the space environment, it is not commonly recognised as being inescapable. We are exposed through our entire lives to potassium-40, radon, carbon-14 and other radioactive sources. Living in the mountains or flying also increases exposure slightly.

Surviving a long winter's nap
But the total dosage from these is small during our lifespans, so the impact normally is insignificant. However, for an organism in hibernation for a million years or so, the cumulative exposure can be like sitting inside a reactor for several minutes.

That's why crawling under a rock to escape solar ultraviolet light on Mars is not a perfect strategy. The rock itself emits trace quantities of radiation over time.

"Within responsible imagination, no long-dormant lifeform can be expected on the surface of Mars due to combined build up of damage over time caused by both incoming space radiation plus the background radiation," Richmond said. The best hope is that life got started some billions of years ago when conditions were more hospitable, and that a few microbes adapted to extreme conditions or learned how to hibernate below the surface.

"But if they wake up too late, they run into the ultimate restriction, too much radiation damage that has accumulated if it's not repaired," Richmond said. "At that point, the population is dead."

So even if something like DR evolved on early Mars, it is possible that winter has lasted too long for any survivors to reawaken in the artificial spring of a petri dish.