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Will Phoenix discover Life on mars?
The latest Mars mission ahs landed, in the lower icey planes of the north polar region of mars, probably more chance of finding life frozen in water maybe.
But the chances of accidently landing and digging in a certian area where something was, is very remote to say the least. Unless Mars was teaming with life.
since when does bacteria not qualify as life...if they were to find bacteria it would an astonishing discovery...the 1st rock solid evidence of life on another planet...
but i personally dont think they'll find anything....it might well be there...but i dont think they'll find it....not with this mission anyway
as i said in another thread...there is methane in the mars atmosphere and methane degrades in sunlight in only a couple of centuries...there are only 2 sources of methane that could be on mars...1 in volcanic activity...although there has been no evidence of sulpher dioxide which is one of the main gases given out by volcanoes....the other is methanobacteria....methane producing bacteria
it's quite possible it could be from the latter and thus there may be or may have been bacteria on mars in the last couple of hundred years
it's also quite likely that unless the craft we keep sending to mars are treated with radiation to kill off life...that we are "contaminating" mars with life from earth...and then we detect that same life 20 years down the line and get a false +ve for life on mars
Originally posted by jaden101
since when does bacteria not qualify as life...if they were to find bacteria it would an astonishing discovery...the 1st rock solid evidence of life on another planet...but i personally dont think they'll find anything....it might well be there...but i dont think they'll find it....not with this mission anyway
as i said in another thread...there is methane in the mars atmosphere and methane degrades in sunlight in only a couple of centuries...there are only 2 sources of methane that could be on mars...1 in volcanic activity...although there has been no evidence of sulpher dioxide which is one of the main gases given out by volcanoes....the other is methanobacteria....methane producing bacteria
it's quite possible it could be from the latter and thus there may be or may have been bacteria on mars in the last couple of hundred years
it's also quite likely that unless the craft we keep sending to mars are treated with radiation to kill off life...that we are "contaminating" mars with life from earth...and then we detect that same life 20 years down the line and get a false +ve for life on mars
Well, bacteria forms under pretty...hmm...'common' conditions, I mean you can potentially find it anywhere. So finding it on Mars might be some new discovery on a different planet, but really....unless it was some brand new specimen of bacteria that couldnt be reproduced under Earth conditions, it isnt that exciting.
Originally posted by Outbound
Well, bacteria forms under pretty...hmm...'common' conditions, I mean you can potentially find it anywhere. So finding it on Mars might be some new discovery on a different planet, but really....unless it was some brand new specimen of bacteria that couldnt be reproduced under Earth conditions, it isnt that exciting.
quite the opposite in reality...bacteria is capable of surviving in the most extreme conditions in the world...there has been caves discovered that were completely sealed off from the outside world for thousands of years....the cave walls were covered in bacteria that drew nutrients directly from the rock...harldy "common" conditions...
bacteria can survive where no other life can
there was an interview in new scientist a few weeks ago with a specialist in life in extreme conditions...he said no matter where life exists on this planet...every single lifeform needs liquid water....LIQUID being the important aspect because as it freezes it expands and this, in most cases of living organisms, ruptures the cells and kills them (although there are cases of species of frogs which effectively freeze solid over winter, underground, and still survive because their vital organs have an organic anti-freeze that prevent the frozen water in the cells from solidifying
Originally posted by jaden101
quite the opposite in reality...bacteria is capable of surviving in the most extreme conditions in the world...there has been caves discovered that were completely sealed off from the outside world for thousands of years....the cave walls were covered in bacteria that drew nutrients directly from the rock...harldy "common" conditions...bacteria can survive where no other life can
Originally posted by Outbound
Well, bacteria forms under pretty...hmm...'common' conditions, I mean you can potentially find it anywhere.
We're on the same page, but I think I'm confusing it a bit, I cant think of the right words right now to explain.
What you said is where I was going with it, it can be found anywhere. I said 'common' in terms of bacterial survival, not normal living organism survival. It's under your lounge, in the sink, on ice in Antarctica, so finding it on Mars is kind of a 'we know theres a high chance its there, just not sure where exactly' idea. I just don't find it as interesting because of the fact it probably actually exists on Mars if they have found water sources. To me, its about as exciting as bringing back a rock from the moon, its made from the same compounds, under the same conditions, so it's basically just a souvenir.
Im not hoping for aliens or any of that sci fi crap, just something a bit more interesting than same old, same old bacteria.
Better get used to "just bacteria," because that may be what the vast bulk of extraterrestrial life is. Remember that bacteria lived on Earth for over 3 billion years before the Cambrian explosion happened; multicellular life has only been around for about a half billion years. Plus, I think some scientists believe that bacteria may still form the largest biomass currently on Earth.
Still, Martian bacteria would be quite a find. The only disappointment may be similarity in DNA structure, suggesting perhaps some kind of panspermia. What would really be great to find (not with this mission, obviously) would be extrasolar life.
In any event, I don't think we will find life this mission.
It's possible. I also think that it will come in the form of bacteria, something really alien would be awesome, but I doubt it. Like jaden mentioned bacteria has been found in the most "uncommon" locations on this planet. Some have been found in conditions that are similar, if not equal to those on Mars, under the surface. I will definitely be keeping a close eye on this mission.