NASA's Viking Experiments May Have Killed Potential Martian Life

Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch suggests that the Viking landers' use of water could have been fatal to Martian microbes.

The Viking landers, launched in 1975, aimed to detect life on Mars by adding water to soil samples, potentially harming any existing microbes.
Dirk Schulze-Makuch argues that Martian microbes might survive by extracting moisture from salts, making them sensitive to excess water.
Comparisons are drawn to Earth's Atacama Desert, where excessive rainfall killed a large percentage of native bacteria adapted to arid conditions.
Schulze-Makuch proposes shifting from a 'follow the water' strategy to a 'follow the salts' approach in future Mars life detection missions.
Despite the controversial nature of his theory, Schulze-Makuch's peers have responded positively, acknowledging the need for innovative approaches.