Question: Where are you going to test the extremophiles?

Rosie Cane answered on 15 Jun 2017:

Since the university doesn’t have access to rockets or space-crafts to take me into space for my experiments (unfortunately) we have to test the extremophiles in a lab here on Earth. We use lab-based experiments try and recreate the conditions that could exist on other planets.

For example we have a Planetary Simulation Chamber that can recreate the pressure, temperature and radiation that any life would be exposed to if it could survive on the surface of Mars!

We also have freezers that go down to -80 degrees to test the survival of life in cold conditions, and an ‘anaerobic chamber’ that does not allow any oxygen in to test the survival of life without oxygen (as there isn’t oxygen in space outside of Earth – as far as we know!)