Posted by tourdemars to Terraforming at April 25, 2003 12:00 PM

A lichen which may one day be used to plant life on Mars has been found growing inside rocks near the South Pole. Waikato University biologist Professor Allan Green told the NZ Antarctic Conference in Dunedin this week that an international team of scientists was amazed to find 15 species of lichens in a small rock outcrop on Mt Kyffin, 750km south of Scott Base. Eight species were found in the Taylor Valley, a "dry valley" west of Scott Base which has received virtually no rain for millions of years.