# What if we take microbes/bacteria to mars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-take-microbes-bacteria-to-mars/227886 "2004-02-06T19:42:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LittleYellowBus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@LittleYellowBus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LittleYellowBus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-take-microbes-bacteria-to-mars/227886/1 "2004-02-06T19:42:07Z")
I have searched the straight dope archives and found threads relating to the threats of bringing back Martian microbes: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=193752&highlight=mars+microbes+bacteria](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=193752&highlight=mars+microbes+bacteria) I will probably even get the same answer here, but I want to know if scientists are taking precautions to limit the life we introduce to Mars. Could Earthly microbes/bacteria be a threat to possible Martian life? This might be a little too Sci-fi, but could this possibility start evolution on Mars? That is if we introduce microbes and they survive. … Maybe I have read too many books by Arthur C. Clarke. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-take-microbes-bacteria-to-mars/227886/2 "2004-02-06T21:30:43Z")
Check out [this article](http://www.nature.com/nsu/nsu_pf/010920/010920-16.html) from 2001. Basically: yes, steps are taken to make sure that we don’t introduce E. coli to Mars, but they aren’t foolproof; and we also have to make sure that if our sensors detect organic compounds on Mars, that it isn’t some dead cellular residue from Earth giving us a false positive.