It just blows my mind how microorganisms have the coolest attributes. Many of us just see these creatures as something that is small and not much of any value but they are so important. We also think that our species is glorious and indestructible but let's be honest, the only indestructible organism on this planets is tardigrades or "water bears." They are microscopic in size but are so strong. They can survive in almost any extreme environment and be exposed to high radiation! In fact, NASA sent a colony of water bears to the International Space Station. The astronauts directly exposed these cute creatures out into outer space and guess what... they survived! It seems to me that humans aren't as strong as tardigrades. In fact, we are fragile creatures. Now, why am I obsessing over a chubby looking microorganism? Well, if you have been following my blog, I am currently developing a lab experiment that investigates how extremophiles react to the martian environment. However, in order to do this, I need to get a good understanding of Mars' climate. On Friday, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Michael Mischna, who is currently a research scientist at JPL. His work focuses on Mars' climate and atmosphere. Dr. Mischna provided me with incredible information. His insight into the atmosphere and climate allowed me to get a better understanding of what the extremophiles might do when they get to Mars. Though I have been tirelessly working on my original work, I still have a long way to go but I am very excited about it.
