A unique study at the U of A. "Back, about 1993, we started
studying methanogens as possible life forms on Mars," Kral says.
Microorganisms, living in a test tube. But can they live on
another planet? Professor Kral is trying to answer that
question. "Well, this is our Pegasus chamber, it's a vaccuum
chamber and we're able to take the pressure down to what we see
on the surface of mars," Kral says standing next to the piece of
machinery. "We could also cool this down to the temperatures on
Mars." Kral recently received a grant from NASA, worth nearly
$400,000. "This specific grant, I've been trying to get for
about 15 years," Kral says. Which he, along with his team of
researchers, and students can use to curb their curiosity and
further their findings. "The bottom line would be to find out if
our methanogens, or if some mutant of our methanogens, that
might be resistant to radiation, could exist on mars," Kral
adds. New York native Rebecca Mickol always knew she wanted to
study astrobiology, and teaming up w