NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments

In 1975, NASA’s Viking mission tested Martian soil for microbial life using liquid water. A recent theory suggests this approach may have destroyed microbes adapted to Mars’ dry, salt-driven conditions. Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes revisiting our assumptions about life on Mars and prioritising methods suited to its hyperarid environment. This theory h…In 1975, NASA’s Viking mission tested Martian soil for microbial life using liquid water. A recent theory suggests this approach may have destroyed microbes adapted to Mars’ dry, salt-driven conditions. Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes revisiting our assumptions about life on Mars and prioritising methods suited to its hyperarid environment. This theory h…