Is it possible that the 70s mars spaceprobes brought microorginisms into the martian soil??

Answer 1

Unfortunately, it's all too possible, and not just the 70's spacecraft, and not just Mars. The practice of sterilizing spacecraft prior to launch has never been universal. The Russians didn't do it for a long time, and they sent craft there also. We didn't do it for all of ours until fairly recently. We now have China, Japan, and India putting things into space, and we'll probably have Korea and others pretty soon. Even before Viking, organic hydrocarbons had been detected in spectral analysis of interstellar and interplanetary space. They've also been found in many planetary bodies and in comets and meteorites. While these are not life, they are the ingredients of life. Some researchers suggest (with good evidence) that life may have arrived originally on earth with a comet or meteoroid. The sterilization methods used on early spacecraft disregarded viruses entirely. The definition of the conditions under which life is possible has been changed a lot since the 70's. So has the actual definition of life, with the discovery of deep sea volcanic vent ecosystems. Bacteria had already been shown to have adapted to thrive in the cooling water of nuclear reactors when Viking was launched. The moons of the outer planets and some comets are now seen as possible abodes for organic life. Objects returned to earth after long periods in space have been found to contain viable microorganisms. The approach taken today is the same as in the medical field. Sterility is never assumed. Handling is always with precautions as if contamination were known to be present. Then we hope for the best.

Answer 2

The Viking probes were sterilised prior to launch, but of course it is always possible that they introduced something to the Martian soil. However, it is unlikely that they introduced anything that would survive up there. No oxygen, virtually no atmosphere, and no real protection against the UV radiation from the sun, along with virtually no nutrition to be found in the martian soil. There are bacteria on Earth that can survive in all sorts of incredibly hostile conditions, known as extremophiles, but the Viking probes wouldn't have been anywhere to pick up such extremophiles. Anything thay did carry to Mars is probably dead, or at the very least indefinitely dormant.

Answer 3

Not likely. Not only does NASA sterilize all assets going into space just for that reason, the ship must pass through the Van Allen belt. The massive radiation will kill any microorganisms riding on the exterior. Then there the icy cold airless space and solar winds. A hitchhiking germ doesn't stand a chance!

Answer 4

Affirmative.

And it is a good thing, too.

We were created for this purpose.

Aref

Answer 5

of course it is possible...anything is possible...but im going to vote no that it actually did