3 ms·
Earthworms Reproduce in Simulated Mars Soil–a First
- CWuestefeld 9y agoBut the fine print: the faux soil is still missing one key compound found on Mars—perchlorates. ... the compounds can be lethal to people who consume them or eat plants grown in them. In studies where worms were exposed to high levels of perchlorates, most did not survive.
- digikata 9y agoThey should go searching around for earthworms in some of the perchlorate contaminated soils in the US. Natural selection could have given those worms better survivability in the same test. Ironically, perchlorate contamination is often caused by past rocket motor production & test facilities...
- opendomain 9y agoNo worms would live on Mars - worms consume the organic material (animal and plant) in the soil, not the minerals. since there is nothing on Mars living (including bacteria), then worm would not survive.