NASA has longed probed the possibility of life on Mars due to the similarities it shares with Earth, yet, to date, no proof has been found of past or present life as we know it. Recent advances suggest the Red Planet once flowed with water, meaning Mars may have once harvested life in conditions much warmer and wetter than today. Despite this, a scientist in Germany made a remarkable discovery to prove that living organisms can not only survive on the current conditions of the Red Planet, but thrive there too, Amazon Prime’s “Tomorrow’s World” revealed.

The series explained in 2018: “Life could exist in this cold, hostile place. “This has been demonstrated by Dr Jean-Pierre Paul De Vera, of the German Spatial Research Centre in Berlin. “In his laboratory, this passionate researcher has created an amazing machine – a Martian chamber – temperature, atmospheric pressure, chemical composition, UV rays, each parameter can be regulated with precision. “The aim, to test the resistance of terrestrial organisms to Martian conditions.”

The Martian Chamber replicated the Red Planet conditions

The chamber was used to test microorganisms from Earth

Life is possible on Mars, and Mars can be a habitat for organisms that live on Earth Dr Jean-Pierre Paul De Vera

In 2012, Dr De Vera showed that cyanobacteria – a phylum consisting of free-living bacteria – present on Earth for 3.5 billion years could survive several weeks in the "Martian chamber" without a problem. He repeated his experiment for nine days with microorganisms recovered from Earth’s harshest continent – Antarctica. They did not just survive, though, they thrived. Dr De Vera revealed what the experiments showed. JUST IN: Science breakthrough: ‘Mind-breaking’ dark matter discovery after universe probe revealed

Dr De Vera was impressed with the results

Two different kinds of materials were used

Organisms from Antarctica thrived

He added: “So far from being a desert with no potential, the Red Planet could be a fertile ground for certain organisms. On the surface of the planet, the rovers go on searching, but these monsters of technology have their limits. “They are slow and fragile, and breakdowns are always possible, so for the experts, the next stage is obvious – they have to send people. “Heading to Mars, astronauts will face a mission of unprecedented complexity." On October 8, 2015, NASA published its strategy for human exploration and colonisation of Mars, the concept operates through three distinct phases leading up to fully sustained civilisation on the Red Planet, which they hope to implement sometime in the mid-2030s.

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