Microbial life in the harsh conditions of Antarctica's cold desert may be considered an analogue of potential life on early Mars. The microbial ecology of these lithobiontic, extremophile microorganism communities could provide clues to the challenging question of how life (if ever present) became extinct on Mars. Application of the SEM-BSE plus EDS technique has allowed us to demonstrate the presence of microbial fossils and biomarkers within Antarctic sandstone rocks collected from Ross Desert for the first time. There is an obvious need for extensive further work on live, dead, mummified and mineralized lithobiontic Antarctic microorganisms. The in situ examination of the interior of Antarctic rocks might represent the best option available to improve our knowledge on these extreme cold and dry microbial habitats and it is foreseen that this type of work will have applications in future astrobiological investigations performed on geological material obtained from Mars.
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机译：在南极洲寒冷沙漠的恶劣条件下的微生物生活可能被认为是火星早期潜在生活的类似物。 这些鳞片细胞的微生物生态学，埃斯特罗斯的微生物社区可以为挑战性问题提供线索，这是如何在火星上灭绝的终身问题。 SEM-BSE Plus EDS技术的应用使我们能够在第一次从罗斯沙漠中收集的南极砂岩岩石中的微生物化石和生物标志物的存在。 显而易见的是对生活，死亡，木乃伊和矿化型鳞状南极微生物进行广泛的进一步工作。 南极岩石内部的原位检验可能代表最佳选择，可以提高我们对这些极端寒冷和干燥的微生物栖息地的知识，并预计这种作品将在未来的天体学调查中进行应用，这些作品在从中获得的地质材料进行 火星。
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