Curiosity may have contaminated Mars

Scientists working on the Mars rover Opportunity are hoping that it doesn't find water on its exploration. This is very surprising as as one of the major goals of NASA's Mars exploration is to understand water on the Martian surface and possibly ultimately find some form of life there.

' alt='Curiosity's Arm' >The problem is that there is a very large chance of finding life which isn't Martian. Lichens from Earth can survive exposure to the vacuum and radiation of space, and that some kinds of bacteria can live in the Martian atmosphere and environment. This raises the hopes for finding Martian life, but it also means that we have to be extremely careful to avoid contamination of Mars.

NASA have strict rules about sterilising anything which might touch the Martian surface, but 6 months before the mission launched, the box holding the rover's rock drill was opened to preload a drill bit, making the system more likely to work despite damage from vibrations in reentry. There wasn't time to resteralise the drills so there will probably be some bacterial spores inside.

The present situation is that the bacteria definitely won't be able to grow if they don't find water, so as long as Curiosity doesn't find water or ice it can carry on its mission. But if it does it won't be allowed to use its drill, severely reducing what it can learn from the rocks of Mars. Fortunately, the rover is in the equatorial part of Mars, where it is unlikely that water will be present.