Lyle Whyte

The search for little green bugs on Mars and other really, really cold worlds!

Humanity has initiated a new and exciting wave of planetary exploration over the next 10-20 years, which has the potential to answer one of the key questions of our times:  Are we alone in this universe? Can our research of frozen worlds here on Earth provide clues as to the possibility of life on bodies of our solar system such as Mars, Europa and Enceladus?

 

About Lyle Whyte

Dr. Whyte is a Professor at McGill University, a founding member of the McGill Space Institute (MSI) and former Canada Research Chair (CRC). He received his PhD from the University of Waterloo and led the NSERC CREATE Canadian Astrobiology Training Program. He is a member of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars 2018 Landing Site Selection Working Group. His research focuses on examining microbial biodiversity and ecology in polar environments, including the goal of determining the low temperature limits of microbial life on Earth. His research also has significant astrobiology implications in the search for microbial life on Mars, Europa, and Enceladus.

nrs-micro.mcgill.ca/whyte/index.html