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Kai Staats , documentary film maker and penis of the MarsCrew134 team , contribute this article to SPACE.com’sExpert articulation : Op - Ed & Insights .

Michaela Musilovais looking for life — in the extreme . Her research is in extremophiles , organisms that exist in uttermost environment such as the glaciers of Greenland ; the high-pitched , dry desert of Utah ; and eventually , perhaps , on the surface of Mars or in the oceans of Europa .

Michaela Musilova, a member of the mock Mars mission Crew 134, works with plants during an experiment at the Mars Desert Research Station habitat in January 2014.

Michaela Musilova, a member of the mock Mars mission Crew 134, works with plants during an experiment at the Mars Desert Research Station habitat in January 2014.

As with many astrobiologists , this body of work is important if humans are to learn if other life exists in the creation .   [ Coolest Mock Space Missions of All Time ]

Michaela first came across extremophiles at University College London , where she complete a Masters of Science Planetary Science degree with First Class Honors . fire by her interest for these over-the-top creatures , she write a proposal of marriage for her master ’s project on the theme and received several scholarships from the university to complete it . Michaela ’s study have brought her to the California Institute of Technology ( Caltech ) as an exchange student from her plate country of Slovakia , and as a inquiry fellow at theNASAJet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL ) . Michaela is presently working as a PhD research bookman at the University of Bristol .

As humanity increase our awareness of how many diverse physique life does take , and at the same clock time improve our proficiency for probe , we grow more potential to discover aliveness off our dwelling house satellite . While telescopes analyze the igniter from the atmosphere of planets eclipsed by orb distant stars , we continue to press our fingers and tools into the stain beneath our feet to look for life which may represent what we will some day find onMars .

If you’re a topical expert — researcher, business leader, author or innovator — and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, email us here.

If you’re a topical expert — researcher, business leader, author or innovator — and would like to contribute an op-ed piece,email us here.

To ascertain more about MarsCrew134 , visitwww.marscrew134.org .

The views expressed are those of the author and do not of necessity reflect the views of the publishing firm . This version of the clause was primitively publish onSPACE.com .

No planet is more steeped in myth and misconception than Mars . This quiz will reveal how much you really know about some of the goofiest claim about the scarlet major planet .

mars ocean northern plains

Mars Myths & Misconceptions : Quiz

an illustration of a rod-shaped bacterium with two small tails

A new study has revealed that lichens can withstand the intense ionizing radiation that hits Mars� surface. (The lichen in this photo is Cetraria aculeata.)

The Phoenix Mars lander inside the clean room the bacteria were found in

An artist�s illustration of Mars�s Gale Crater beginning to catch the morning light.

A photograph taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which shows wave-like patterns inside a Mars crater.

Illustration of the Red Planet aka Mars against a black background.

selfie taken by a mars rover, showing bits of its hardware in the foreground and rover tracks extending across a barren reddish-sand landscape in the background

An artist�s illustration of long ribbon-like auroras rippling across the Martian sky

an illustration of Mars

an aerial view of a rock on Mars

two white wolves on a snowy background

An illustration of a hand that transforms into a strand of DNA

An abstract illustration of rays of colorful light

An illustration of a pensive Viking woman sitting by the sea

lady justice with a circle of neon blue and a dark background

a close-up of a handmade stone tool