Should we send Earth life to other worlds?

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.)

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

needless to say, I'm skeptical.

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'.

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)

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?

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.

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.

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.

Even if we assume that any could find a food source on the planet, there is no ecosystem.

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/[something happens] 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.

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/[something happens] 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.

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. 😉

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

We need to focus on the life that is down here instead of trying to populate another world with it.

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.

Why not?

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.

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?