Researchers dug and dug and dug into the soils of McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, all on the hunt for life. It's a cold, wind-swept, desert area, marked only by deposits of permafrost. In other words, it's a lot like Mars. And it's lifeless.
Nothing. At least nothing alive. The McGill University researchers failed to find a single living microbe in the permafrost soil. There were a few bits of dead or dormant bacteria, but no active cultures. It's just cold and sterile, without a bacterial colony to call its own. Digging nearly two feet under the soil, they still found nothing alive. In fact, it appears to be one of the small handful of places on Earth where there's little to no life at all.
In a clarifying email, co-author Jackie Goordial said some of the dormant bacteria may be able to thrive if temperatures reached above 41 degrees Fahrenheit. But without those conditions, those few dormant bacteria cultures will be unable to thrive. " We do find bacteria, but it seems as if they are dead, or dormant," she said.
"If conditions are too cold and dry to support active microbial life on an analogous climate on Earth, then the colder dryer conditions in the near surface permafrost on Mars are unlikely to contain life," researcher Lyle Whyte said in a press release.
The results, published in ISME, could point to a planet that couldn't hold on to any life it once had, even just under the surface of the soil. In other words, Mars may not just be a cold desert, but a lifeless one as well. Of course, since Carl Sagan said, "If there is life on Mars, I believe we should do nothing with Mars. Mars then belongs to the Martians, even if the Martians are only microbes," this means one thing: it sounds like that won't really be an issue.