According to Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemiev, humanity has already brought life to the Red Planet, sending automatic stations and rovers there.
“I think that actually life already exists on Mars, and it is most likely brought by us. Because those rovers, those stations that reached Mars – no matter how we process them and no matter how they go through quarantine, they still brought the simplest microorganisms with them,” Oleg said during a teleconference organized by the Center for Cosmonautics and Aviation.
“And despite the fact that there are extraterrestrial conditions on Mars, these microorganisms have survived and are beginning to develop,” the astronaut added.
He recalled that the “Test” experiment was conducted on the Russian segment of the International Space Station, which proved the ability of microorganisms to survive in outer space.
“Therefore, when a person sets foot on Mars, he will probably discover some kind of life, very similar to that on Earth, but already more adapted to the conditions of Mars,” the astronaut said.
Oleg Artemiev made two space flights on board the ISS in 2014 and 2018 with a total duration of a year (366 days) and made three spacewalks with a total duration of more than 20 hours.
