A salt-loving microorganism reproduced in an oxygen-free, low-pressure environment containing nitrate and perchlorate, according to a study published on November 5, 2026.
Specialists at the University of Florida investigated whether life currently known to science could survive on Mars under the planet’s present conditions, as the planet lacks water and features an extremely thin atmosphere composed of 95 to 96 percent carbon dioxide.
Mars features a cold, thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide, which creates a hostile environment for known terrestrial life. Researchers investigated whether extreme terrestrial microbes could withstand these conditions. Scientists previously cultivated microbes under simulated Martian conditions involving high salt concentrations or low atmospheric pressure, and sometimes subjected microorganisms to multiple stressors simultaneously, though typically only for a few hours or days.
Scientists exposed the extreme-salt-tolerant microbe Haloferax volcanii to a combination of stressors in the laboratory. The cultures were maintained for 160 days in an oxygen-free, carbon-rich, low-pressure, and highly saline environment.
Researchers added nitrate and perchlorate to the sample solutions to test metabolic support. The microbes utilized these compounds and successfully reproduced, though at a slower rate than control groups kept at standard Earth atmospheric pressure.
Samples lacking nitrate or perchlorate survived the duration without reproducing. During the process, the microorganisms preserved a large portion of their water content within the highly saline environment, a retention to which biofilms may also have contributed according to the researchers.
The study, titled “Cultivation of halophilic archaea in shallow subsurface Martian conditions has implications for extant life on Mars,” appeared in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The authors include Adam Robinson, Shannon McQuaig-Ulrich, Tyler Dondero, Aaron Celestian, and Scott M. Perl. Adam Robinson, an astrobiologist, examined alongside his team whether Haloferax volcanii could achieve more than mere survival in a simulated Martian environment.
The researchers tested whether the organisms could manage more than mere survival. The team said that the laboratory temperature was set to 21 degrees Celsius, which is warmer than conditions found in subsurface Martian layers.
The laboratory results demonstrate that Haloferax volcanii can grow under simulated subsurface Martian stressors when provided with specific chemical nutrients like nitrates or perchlorates. This research can provide a new direction for how researchers search for extraterrestrial life, suggesting they should consider the possibility that microscopic life-forms might survive on the red planet today rather than exclusively searching for traces of ancient, extinct Martian microbes.
No direct evidence proves extant life exists on Mars. The laboratory experiment did not replicate every planetary variable, and scientists remain uncertain whether modeled saline liquid-water pockets actually exist on the planet.
Microbial cultures received nitrate and perchlorate compounds, which helped maintain metabolism and enabled reproduction during the 160-day test period.
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