A very interesting article, to be sure.<p>It makes me wonder if there are any mushrooms that could survive on Mars...<p>If not, then one poster suggested that the surface of Mars is rusted (oxidated).<p>If that's so, then my question becomes something of the following:<p>Is there a food chain (from rust/oxides, to simple bacteria that would eat that rust, to more complex bacteria (that would survive on those simpler bacteria), to spores, mushrooms, etc., such that that whole "food chain" could survive on the surface of Mars?<p>Speculation: Maybe we'll find strange/weird "food chains" (for lack of a better term!) like that on Mars, and if they aren't directly on the surface (due to violent dust storms, too much radiation, or what-have-you), perhaps such "food chains" exist in caves, or perhaps deep underground, in caverns protected from Mars' harsh atmosphere...<p>I would love to know the answer to this in the future!