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# Martian Soil Is Deadly. And That's Why It Might Support Life
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/pbs-space-time/episode/martian-soil-is-deadly-and-thats-why-it-might-support-life-7cqkbg/
- Published: 2026-03-19T21:15:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-19T21:30:14.000Z
- Description: Tardigrades can survive almost anything—even most of Mars. But one Martian chemical stops even them.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: PBS Space Time, Season 11, Episode 24, #ZZZ_Episode_2882002c-802f-4d35-a94f-87ecba362ea8, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_ae70f836-13b6-4c9d-b61f-99f7b8bc29eb, #v1.16

The tardigrade survives extreme drying, freezing, heat, radiation, and the vacuum of space—possibly hitchhiking to Mars on asteroid ejecta. A new study confirms it can endure most of the Martian surface's hostility. Most. Add one chemical that's abundant on Mars and brutally toxic, and even this champion extremophile gives out. So if nothing on Earth can handle Mars, can anything live there today?