Salt in Mars soil 'not bad for life'

Salt in Mars soil 'not bad for life'

au.news.yahoo.com

Traces of a rocket fuel ingredient found in the Martian soil would not necessarily hinder potential life, US scientists said.

NASA's Phoenix spacecraft recently detected the chemical perchlorate, a highly oxidising salt, in soil samples dug up from near the Martian surface. On Earth, it can be found naturally in the arid Atacama Desert in Chile where some extreme organisms use it as a source of energy.

"We know that microbes can exist quite happily in oxidising conditions," said Phoenix scientist Richard Quinn of the NASA Ames Research Centre. "The story possibly could turn out to be the same for Mars. We don't know yet."

(visit the link for the full news article)

I hope this hasn't been posted before, I did search. This is an update to the 'drama' that is Perchlorate which basically confirms what most people here on ATS have been saying, that Perchlorate is bad but life can still survive with its presence regardless.

au.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

NASA - Please make your bloody mind up about the soil on Mars. is it good ? or is it bad?
please just say one, not one then the other a day later .....