Life as we know it depends on the genetic code: a set of codons, each made up of three bases in a DNA sequence and corresponding mRNA sequence, that specifies which of the $20$ amino acids will be added to the protein during translation.

Imagine that a prokaryote$-$like organism has been discovered in the polar ice on Mars. Interestingly, these Martian organisms use the same DNA $$ RNA $$ protein system as life on Earth, except that

there are only $2$ bases $($ A and $T)$ in the Martian DNA, and

there are only $17$ amino acids found in Martian proteins.

Based on this information, what is the minimum size of a codon for these hypothetical Martian life$-$forms?

View Available, Hint$($s$)$

$2$ bases

$3$ bases

$4$ bases

$5$ bases

bases

The answer cannot be determined from the information provided.