Testing the Possibility of Contaminating Mars

A university of Florida researcher is looking at the possibility of biologically contaminating Mars by sending both robotic rovers and/or humans to the red planet. It has already been shown that certain bacteria can survive on satellites for over six years in space, and that bacteria could survive an explosion and trip to Mars on a rock from Earth. Thus, using capabilities added to the ISS by the shuttle launch this week, scientists will place some of their experiments on the outside of the station subjecting them to the harsh space environment. The article is available here.