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As always, the title is grossly incorrect. The "microbe", is a blue-green alga, Chroococcidiopsis. It does not produce oxygen from Martian soil, but from wate

by adrian_b 11mo ago

As always, the title is grossly incorrect. The "microbe", is a blue-green alga, Chroococcidiopsis. It does not produce oxygen from Martian soil, but from water, if you give water and solar light to it. The newsworthy part is that this cyanobacterium can survive in the presence of the toxic Martian soil and it can also survive the freezing caused by the Martian temperatures. Therefore it could be used in some kind of greenhouses built on Mars, but a water source for supplying the greenhouse must be found. In general, on Mars producing enough water to cover all needs will be the greatest technical challenge. All other substances are abundant enough in comparison with the required quantities, except possibly the noble gases, like argon and helium (but in the non-oxidizing Martian atmosphere there will be much less need of inert gases for techniques like welding).

bilekas 11mo ago
I am quite ignorant on these specifics but wouldn't it be feasable to basically have them in a greenhouse environment, heated, in the North pole area, where I believe there was some form of IceWater found.. If possible to even melt some of that, and let that cascade the effect ? https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Water_ice_in_crater_at_Martian_north_pole https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_E...
- adrian_b 11mo ago
  That would work only for a base located at the North pole. If you want to explore other regions, or to set there a base, for instance for extracting some useful minerals, all the water will have to be transported from the poles, unless some quantities of ice will be discovered underground elsewhere (or of hydrated rocks, which can produce water when heated enough). Unless enough ice or hydrated rocks are discovered underground elsewhere, the amount of ice from the poles will sustain only a small human population.
stevenjgarner 11mo ago
How is it "grossly incorrect"? Using both taxonomic and size classification, is it not accurate to refer to a blue-green alga as a "microbe" or "microorganism." [1] A microbe (or microorganism) is generally defined as an organism that is microscopic—too small to be seen clearly by the naked eye. Blue-green algae fit this definition as they are single-celled or form microscopic colonies. The scientific name for blue-green algae is cyanobacteria, which are technically a type of bacteria, universally classified as microbes. [2] They are prokaryotes (lacking a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles), and the two prokaryotic domains of life (Bacteria and Archaea) are composed entirely of microbes. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025173/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025173/ [2] https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/contaminants/blue-green-algae/faqs https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/contaminants/bl...
- gus_massa 11mo ago
  > How is it "grossly incorrect"? Perhaps it's not glossly incorrect, but I classyfy it as "super ultra mega misleading". I'd like a title like "*Cyanobacteria survives in water contamined with martian soil"
  - embedding-shape 11mo ago
    HN title at the moment is: Researchers Find Microbe Capable of Producing Oxygen from Martian Soil Article title at the moment is: Microbe That Could Turn Martian Dust into Oxygen Neither of those are particularly misleading, but requires you to read it carefully I suppose, otherwise it can misleading I suppose. I guess "Martian Dust" is the most misleading part of the quote, as the soil isn't actually Martian of origin, but actually "materials that are similar to Martian soil".
    - adrian_b 11mo ago
      Both titles are very misleading, because neither "oxygen is produced from Martian soil" nor "Martian dust is turned into oxygen". As I have said, the oxygen comes only from water, which is missing on Mars, unlike the abundant Martian soil or Martian dust. So the "microbe" does not solve the problem of oxygen production, which is obtaining water. With water, making oxygen by electrolysis is trivial and a problem solved long ago. The cyanobacterium can make various useful organic substances, like proteins and vitamins. The fact that it also makes some oxygen is a minor additional advantage. Even if such cyanobacteria will be grown on Mars, most of the oxygen will be made by electrolysis anyway, because the efficiency from solar light to free oxygen is much better and the photovoltaic cells continue to function in a much wider range of temperatures.
      - embedding-shape 11mo ago
        > As I have said, the oxygen comes only from water, which is missing on Mars The title nor the article itself doesn't claim otherwise, unless I'm missing something? It's also not claiming that the microbe somehow solve the problem of obtaining water, or anything else. The only thing they claim is that this specific microbe, under the right circumstances, can produce oxygen while it grows in Martian-like soil. That's what the article claims, and the titles.
pfdietz 11mo ago
Yeah, I was expecting something about a microorganism that could (say) decompose perchlorate to release oxygen, not some more mundane photosynthesizer.
- shagie 11mo ago
  From a more complete article... https://www.universetoday.com/articles/one-extremophile-eats-martian-dirt-survives-in-space-and-can-create-oxygen-for-colonies https://www.universetoday.com/articles/one-extremophile-eats... > But that’s not all Chroo can do - it can live on Lunar and Martian soil, and produce oxygen using only them and photosynthesis. It can even survive the high level of perchlorates found in the Martian soil, a tricky proposition for many Earth-based life forms, but “up-regulating” its DNA repair genes that counter the damage the perchlorates do. From Acta Astronautica Volume 238, January 2026 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.09.022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.09.022 > Indeed, cyanobacterial productivity can be augmented by increasing regolith concentrations, however, the growth with Martian regolith might be harmed by the presence of perchlorates [54] that being chaotropic agents, destabilize macromolecules and trigger oxidative stress [55]. A first investigation showed that Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 029 copes with perchlorates by over-expressing genes involved in the antioxidant defense and DNA damage repair [56]. On-going proteomics and genomics investigation in the context of the Space It Up project, will better elucidate how this cyanobacterium overcomes perchlorate-induced stress and contribute to fill the gaps to develop cyanobacterial-based life support systems. For more on CCMEE 029 Algal Research from October 2025 : Uncovering the enhanced antioxidant defense of the desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 029: A step forward to its use in space life support https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2025.104287 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2025.104287

bilekas 11mo ago

I am quite ignorant on these specifics but wouldn't it be feasable to basically have them in a greenhouse environment, heated, in the North pole area, where I believe there was some form of IceWater found.. If possible to even melt some of that, and let that cascade the effect ? https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Water_ice_in_crater_at_Martian_north_pole https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_E...

adrian_b 11mo ago
That would work only for a base located at the North pole. If you want to explore other regions, or to set there a base, for instance for extracting some useful minerals, all the water will have to be transported from the poles, unless some quantities of ice will be discovered underground elsewhere (or of hydrated rocks, which can produce water when heated enough). Unless enough ice or hydrated rocks are discovered underground elsewhere, the amount of ice from the poles will sustain only a small human population.

stevenjgarner 11mo ago

How is it "grossly incorrect"? Using both taxonomic and size classification, is it not accurate to refer to a blue-green alga as a "microbe" or "microorganism." [1] A microbe (or microorganism) is generally defined as an organism that is microscopic—too small to be seen clearly by the naked eye. Blue-green algae fit this definition as they are single-celled or form microscopic colonies. The scientific name for blue-green algae is cyanobacteria, which are technically a type of bacteria, universally classified as microbes. [2] They are prokaryotes (lacking a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles), and the two prokaryotic domains of life (Bacteria and Archaea) are composed entirely of microbes. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025173/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9025173/ [2] https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/contaminants/blue-green-algae/faqs https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/contaminants/bl...

gus_massa 11mo ago
> How is it "grossly incorrect"? Perhaps it's not glossly incorrect, but I classyfy it as "super ultra mega misleading". I'd like a title like "*Cyanobacteria survives in water contamined with martian soil"
- embedding-shape 11mo ago
  HN title at the moment is: Researchers Find Microbe Capable of Producing Oxygen from Martian Soil Article title at the moment is: Microbe That Could Turn Martian Dust into Oxygen Neither of those are particularly misleading, but requires you to read it carefully I suppose, otherwise it can misleading I suppose. I guess "Martian Dust" is the most misleading part of the quote, as the soil isn't actually Martian of origin, but actually "materials that are similar to Martian soil".
  - adrian_b 11mo ago
    Both titles are very misleading, because neither "oxygen is produced from Martian soil" nor "Martian dust is turned into oxygen". As I have said, the oxygen comes only from water, which is missing on Mars, unlike the abundant Martian soil or Martian dust. So the "microbe" does not solve the problem of oxygen production, which is obtaining water. With water, making oxygen by electrolysis is trivial and a problem solved long ago. The cyanobacterium can make various useful organic substances, like proteins and vitamins. The fact that it also makes some oxygen is a minor additional advantage. Even if such cyanobacteria will be grown on Mars, most of the oxygen will be made by electrolysis anyway, because the efficiency from solar light to free oxygen is much better and the photovoltaic cells continue to function in a much wider range of temperatures.
    - embedding-shape 11mo ago
      > As I have said, the oxygen comes only from water, which is missing on Mars The title nor the article itself doesn't claim otherwise, unless I'm missing something? It's also not claiming that the microbe somehow solve the problem of obtaining water, or anything else. The only thing they claim is that this specific microbe, under the right circumstances, can produce oxygen while it grows in Martian-like soil. That's what the article claims, and the titles.

pfdietz 11mo ago

Yeah, I was expecting something about a microorganism that could (say) decompose perchlorate to release oxygen, not some more mundane photosynthesizer.

shagie 11mo ago
From a more complete article... https://www.universetoday.com/articles/one-extremophile-eats-martian-dirt-survives-in-space-and-can-create-oxygen-for-colonies https://www.universetoday.com/articles/one-extremophile-eats... > But that’s not all Chroo can do - it can live on Lunar and Martian soil, and produce oxygen using only them and photosynthesis. It can even survive the high level of perchlorates found in the Martian soil, a tricky proposition for many Earth-based life forms, but “up-regulating” its DNA repair genes that counter the damage the perchlorates do. From Acta Astronautica Volume 238, January 2026 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.09.022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.09.022 > Indeed, cyanobacterial productivity can be augmented by increasing regolith concentrations, however, the growth with Martian regolith might be harmed by the presence of perchlorates [54] that being chaotropic agents, destabilize macromolecules and trigger oxidative stress [55]. A first investigation showed that Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 029 copes with perchlorates by over-expressing genes involved in the antioxidant defense and DNA damage repair [56]. On-going proteomics and genomics investigation in the context of the Space It Up project, will better elucidate how this cyanobacterium overcomes perchlorate-induced stress and contribute to fill the gaps to develop cyanobacterial-based life support systems. For more on CCMEE 029 Algal Research from October 2025 : Uncovering the enhanced antioxidant defense of the desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 029: A step forward to its use in space life support https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2025.104287 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2025.104287