Hardy bugs could survive a million years on Mars
It was already nicknamed “ Conan the bacteria ” for its ability to hold up radiation . Now it seems Deinococcus radiodurans could , in possibility , come through abeyant on Mars for over a million years . Lewis Dartnellat University College London and colleagues froze the bugs to -79 ° C , the ordinary temperature at Mars ’s mid - latitudes . Then they nuke them with gamma irradiation to imitate the dose they would receive under 30 centimeter of Martian soil over long periods of time ....