• Question: why cant other life be made and adapt to other atmospheres?

    Asked by hughesy ;) to Angus on 21 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Angus Cook

      Angus Cook answered on 21 Jun 2016:

      Well actually we think it probably can. We have examples of different kinds of bacteria and micro-organisms which manage to survive in climates and environments which we’d struggle with ourselves. We call these types of life ‘extremophiles’, and we’ve found them in very hot places, places without oxygen, places which are really quit acidic or alkaline (opposite of acidic, and can be just as bad for you).

      One main thing that we think all life needs is water. There are extremophiles which can survive better on much less water than others, but I don’t think there are any which can survive in environments with NO water.

      This means that we often look for signs of liquid water on other worlds as candidates for life, and why the fact we think Mars once had liquid water on its surface means that we think it could have supported life.

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