| The icy moons of the outer Solar System harbor potentially habitable environments for life, however, compared to the terrestrial biosphere, these environments are characterized by extremes in temperature, pressure, pH, and other physico-chemical conditions. Therefore, the search for life on these icy worlds is anchored on the study of terrestrial extreme environments (termed “analogue sites”), which harbor microorganisms at the frontiers of polyextremophily. These so-called extremophiles have been found in areas previously considered sterile: hot springs, hydrothermal vents, acidic or alkaline lakes, hypersaline environments, deep sea sediments, glaciers, and arid areas, amongst others. Such model systems and communities in extreme terrestrial environments... |
