University of Leeds 02.11.2005

Is there life on Mars?



An international team of scientists including the University of Leeds’ Liane Benning have successfully trialled techniques to search for life on Mars. Their findings - microbes deep within ice-filled volcanic tubes - reveal how to test for life on the red planet.



Dr Benning from earth and environment is the sole UK member of the AMASE team studying rocks, ice and micro-organisms on the arctic island of Svalbard in Norway, which has a geology similar to that of parts of Mars. "We sampled the ice-filled volcanic tubes of the one million-year-old Sverrefjell volcano to see if life could survive in such harsh environments," she said.

Using a life-detection strategy including specially designed sterile drills to avoid contamination from surface bacteria or humans, the team discovered a rare and complex microbial community living deep within blue ice in the arctic volcano. The team detected both living and fossilised organisms, supporting the theory that the frozen planet Mars could sustain life and demonstrating we have tools to find it.