Tetyana Milojevic has recently received ERC Consolidator Grant to decipher microbial biosignatures left on Mars mineral materials.
The search for biologically driven alterations on Mars and its potential as habitat for past or present life is a primary aim of the Mars exploration missions. The BIOMAMA project investigates microbial Mars-relevant biosignatures based on Martian genuine meteorites, their preservation and life survival under Mars-like conditions. This project explores unique microbial interactions with Martian meteorites down to the nanoscale and atomic resolution utilizing a comprehensive toolbox of cutting-edge techniques available at FELMI-ZFE. BIOMAMA serves to identify preservable biomarkers/biosignatures of chemolithotrophic (rock-eating) life based on Martian materials after the exposure to simulated Martian conditions at low Earth orbit and in Mars-analogue sites on Earth. These studies pave the way to the efficient nanoanalytical spectroscopy of returned Mars samples in order to assess their potential biogenicity.
A prototype of microbial life designed on a real Martian material Noachian Martian breccia NWA 7034 as a rich source of Mars relevant biosignatures.
