Should we send Earth life to other worlds?

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Shakyamunison
Here is an article from Universe today.

Russia Will Send Life to Phobos

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/03/01/russia-will-send-life-to-phobos/

Should we be sending Earth life to other planets?

Mairuzu
Transformers will stop them.

Robtard
Stupid Russians will be the end of us all, what happens if those minute creatures mutate and become planet eaters?

Shakyamunison
Originally posted by Robtard
Stupid Russians will be the end of us all, what happens if those minute creatures mutate and become planet eaters?

Ah,... we would then be screwed. However, is it asking too much to get a real answer?

Kris Blaze
Should you? No

Should the Russians? Yes.

Robtard
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Ah,... we would then be screwed. However, is it asking too much to get a real answer?

Real answer: I don't see a problem with it, human space travel to the other planets and beyond is (and should) going to happen; this is just laying the ground-work.

Symmetric Chaos
What could possibly go wrong?

Toku King
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Here is an article from Universe today.

Russia Will Send Life to Phobos

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/03/01/russia-will-send-life-to-phobos/

Should we be sending Earth life to other planets?

I guess these guys never saw "Doctor Who".

http://uktv.co.uk/images/standarditem/EX1/2644.jpg

Shakyamunison
Originally posted by Robtard
Real answer: I don't see a problem with it, human space travel to the other planets and beyond is (and should) going to happen; this is just laying the ground-work.

I agree that human space travel is inevitable, but if we find life on another world, how will be be sure it wasn't something that got away from us?

You know that if we do find life the fundys will say that we put is there.

Robtard
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
What could possibly go wrong?

I was going to say "a billion things", as the safe 'bucket' answer, but I narrowed it down to 1,042 things that could go wrong.

Truth is, if we didn't do something because something could go wrong, we still be living in small tribes and using animal feces as insulation against the cold.

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I agree that human space travel is inevitable, but if we find life on another world, how will be be sure it wasn't something that got away from us?

You know that if we do find life the fundys will say that we put is there.

That is just about the worst reasoning I could possibly imagine.

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by Robtard
I was going to say "a billion things", as the safe 'bucket' answer, but I narrowed it down to 1,042 things that could go wrong.

Truth is, if we didn't do something because something could go wrong, we still be living in small tribes and using animal feces as insulation against the cold.

Some of us still you animal feces as insulation.

Anyway, I wasn't advocating against it. Barring something out of science fiction it's fairly not very likely that sending life to another world could come back and bite us.

Robtard
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I agree that human space travel is inevitable, but if we find life on another world, how will be be sure it wasn't something that got away from us?

You know that if we do find life the fundys will say that we put is there.

Well, if we send a copepods to some distant moon and we later travel there and said copepods have somehow thrived, it's to say it was us

Quiero Mota
Originally posted by Shakyamunison

Russia Will Send Life to Phobos


And here I thought the Space Race ended.

Shakyamunison
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
That is just about the worst reasoning I could possibly imagine.

Then you be the antagonist.

Toku King
I say no, mostly because I'm paranoid. Maybe it's best to stay hidden from the rest of the universe.

Mindship
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Here is an article from Universe today.

Russia Will Send Life to Phobos

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/03/01/russia-will-send-life-to-phobos/

Should we be sending Earth life to other planets? We know one day people will be going. It's best to know as much as possible what the trip might be like. I don't know if I'd release things into the soil, though.

Robtard
Going to need the 'Prime Directive' sooner than later.

inimalist
I really don't see an issue...

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by inimalist
I really don't see an issue...

Okay, say the planet is rife with magical energy . . .

Also See: World War Hulk

Red Nemesis
Originally posted by inimalist
I really don't see an issue...

I do.

It seems like a conflict between scientific curiosity and the conservation of the natural world. Granted, this wouldn't be our world, but introducing life in such a casual way seems irresponsible. If we want to terraform planets then much more thought should be involved than appears to have been given to the concept of containment here. (Of course, I could be wrong and it will be contained in some fashion or another and I won't see any problem at all.)

inimalist
we are going to terraform a world using organisms specifically tailored to survive on ours?

needless to say, I'm skeptical.

Robtard
The story says that the chances of contamination with the surface is extremely slim, it's more of a test on how the organisms deal with the travel, not 'can they survive'.

Robtard
Originally posted by inimalist
we are going to terraform a world using organisms specifically tailored to survive on ours?

needless to say, I'm skeptical.

See: Red Planet

(or don't, as it wasn't very good)

Symmetric Chaos
Originally posted by Robtard
See: Red Planet

(or don't, as it wasn't very good)

Didn't they genetically engineer the stuff for specific properties first in that movie?

Red Nemesis
Originally posted by inimalist
we are going to terraform a world using organisms specifically tailored to survive on ours?

needless to say, I'm skeptical.


OK, so I'm dumb sometimes. I hadn't meant to say that this was terraforming, although that was definitely implied by my sentence. All I wanted to say (really) was that thought should be put into some sort of containment protocol. That's it. The TF comment was basically ill-advised, poorly thought out hyperbole that I am now unable to rationalize.

Robtard
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Didn't they genetically engineer the stuff for specific properties first in that movie?

Yes, and somehow some insect-like creatures appeared.

inimalist
Originally posted by Robtard
See: Red Planet

(or don't, as it wasn't very good)

god, I don't even know if I've seen that, for all the god damned stupid mars movies

is it the Ice Cube one? or was it Ice T? Tea?

Originally posted by Red Nemesis
OK, so I'm dumb sometimes. I hadn't meant to say that this was terraforming, although that was definitely implied by my sentence. All I wanted to say (really) was that thought should be put into some sort of containment protocol. That's it. The TF comment was basically ill-advised, poorly thought out hyperbole that I am now unable to rationalize.

well, I agree stuff should be well thought out, but I don't really understand what you think could go wrong?

The premise is to see what happens to some pretty simple organisms in a foreign environment. Even if we assume that any could find a food source on the planet, there is no ecosystem. I don't know, like I said, I am skeptical.

Red Nemesis
Granted, they wouldn't disrupt an ecosystem. (I actually cut that word from my initial post because it isn't accurate.) The danger I see (saw) was that it endangers the validity of any findings of life on that moon. Obviously we don't think there is life there, but if it is impacted/ there could be contamination to Mars. Though it seems far-fetched now, my concern was that life would (somehow) be brought to Mars and endanger the authenticity/believability of life that we have yet to find there.

TBH, it was a gut-reaction from a tree-hugger, which is something that can usually be ignored.

inimalist
Originally posted by Red Nemesis
Granted, they wouldn't disrupt an ecosystem. (I actually cut that word from my initial post because it isn't accurate.) The danger I see (saw) was that it endangers the validity of any findings of life on that moon. Obviously we don't think there is life there, but if it is impacted/ there could be contamination to Mars. Though it seems far-fetched now, my concern was that life would (somehow) be brought to Mars and endanger the authenticity/believability of life that we have yet to find there.

TBH, it was a gut-reaction from a tree-hugger, which is something that can usually be ignored.

i mean there is no ecosystem as in there is nothing to support the creatures. no atmosphere even.

Like, what is going to live in order to contaminate anything.

Also, if we found life on Mars, and it had DNA like life on earth, we would know pretty quickly it had come from us.

Shakyamunison
Originally posted by inimalist
i mean there is no ecosystem as in there is nothing to support the creatures. no atmosphere even.

Like, what is going to live in order to contaminate anything.

Also, if we found life on Mars, and it had DNA like life on earth, we would know pretty quickly it had come from us.

Unless life on Earth came from Mars long ago. wink

inimalist
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Unless life on Earth came from Mars long ago. wink

true, though it would still be very easy to distinguish between life forms which had evolved for billions of years on mars from life form we just brought there from earth. Much like we can distinguish from animals that are native to Australia from ones that were brought there.

Sadako of Girth
Shit as long as there aint Cylons chasing us, it'll all be gravy.

Robtard
Originally posted by inimalist
god, I don't even know if I've seen that, for all the god damned stupid mars movies

is it the Ice Cube one? or was it Ice T? Tea?


Neither, this was the one with Val 'I've aged very poorly' Kilmer. The antagonist was a malfunctioning robot, that and a bunch of insect-like creatures that spawned from god knows where and could borrow their way into your brain via the rectum.

Mindship
Originally posted by Robtard
Neither, this was the one with Val 'I've aged very poorly' Kilmer. The antagonist was a malfunctioning robot, that and a bunch of insect-like creatures that spawned from god knows where and could borrow their way into your brain via the rectum. While the movie overall was a stinkeroo, 4 things were noteworthy...
1. Carrie Ann Moss' body
2. Amy
3. Sizemore's exit scene
4. Carrie Ann Moss' body

heru
Are we that eager to see life on other planets, that we have to put it there ourselves? I do believe there is other life forms out there, whether they came here or not. We need to focus on the life that is down here instead of trying to populate another world with it. Who knows, they may create something that beyond there control, and that will be the day that the earth stand still.

Red Nemesis
Except that they aren't trying to populate the moon with life, and there is no (next to no?) chance of the specimens they send flourishing (because there is no food). So this isn't really a concern. At all.

HoldenCaulfield
Why not?

Shakyamunison
Originally posted by Red Nemesis
Except that they aren't trying to populate the moon with life, and there is no (next to no?) chance of the specimens they send flourishing (because there is no food). So this isn't really a concern. At all.

Life finds a way.

heru
Originally posted by Red Nemesis
Except that they aren't trying to populate the moon with life, and there is no (next to no?) chance of the specimens they send flourishing (because there is no food). So this isn't really a concern. At all.

Then what is the point of doing it? Just to say that they done it? Whatever they're trying to do I know there gonna spend a lot of money doing it. So mine as well get your money's worth right?

heru
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Life finds a way.

This is so true, case and point, EARTH.

KidRock
We should be putting anything and everything we have into space exploration.

Deja~vu
Yes and don't delude yourself that this was already done on this planet...

Yeah, some people call this planet the "ant farm"...LOL. Meaning experiments on what would happen if we put a man a woman here.

This from a friend



The others were here or could be hear and or keep transmissions on usl. Maybe we are too violent and things. You have to wonder because there are billions are galaxies and you need to have to belief that we are not the only ones in this whole open space in our little space....Do you understand.

inimalist
Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Life finds a way.

Originally posted by heru
This is so true, case and point, EARTH.

Yes, however, we aren't sending proto-life or the conditions for proto-life to another body, we are sending already formed organisms that require specific environments which their bodies are evolved to survive in.

Could life form on a rock and find a way to extract nutrients and eventually form an intricate ecosystem, potentially, but not a few microbes.

There was this study done in the past couple of years where successive generations of a bacteria were recorded and eventually produced successive genetic mutations that allowed it to eat a new substance it couldn't previously. This is all well and good, but the difficulty even these controlled experiments had producing that change sort of points to the idea that it is extremely unlikely.

Originally posted by heru
Then what is the point of doing it? Just to say that they done it? Whatever they're trying to do I know there gonna spend a lot of money doing it. So mine as well get your money's worth right?

the point is to test the effects of space on organisms to better protect humans when they go into space

Originally posted by KidRock
We should be putting anything and everything we have into space exploration.

yes we should

Bicnarok

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