大象传媒

If there is life today on Mars, it most probably survives in the sanctuaries of caves, cracks and fault lines in the Red Planet鈥檚 crust. Martian microbes may thrive in 鈥榝lamboyant鈥� diversity where they are protected against the radiation and Antarctic temperatures at the surface. So says Penny Boston, head of Nasa鈥檚 Astrobiology Institute. Professor Boston bases the conjecture on more than three decades of research in deep cave systems here on Earth.

Image: (L) Danielle Winget and (R) Penny Boston.
Credit: Penny Boston.