millions in the years before humans appeared microbes with driving here on earth get less than half a one percent at estimated two to three billion microbial species have had been identified of today the search for a new microbes able to survive in the world's most extreme conditions is helping us to address one of the last remaining challenges is there life beyond microbes thrive in an extraordinary range habitats and often when no with the life forms could exist these include freezing conditions very similar to the permafrost at mars this could help us prove that life may have been possible on mars and on other planets to the search for life on Mars is a session detective