Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

Rxke · 2004-08-18 14:25:35

Intentionally controvercial stance...

I've recently changed my Avatar to the picture of a terraformed Mars.
The latest images from Spirit have made me aware, once again quite painfully, how I long to be there.
Don't know why. It dates back from when I was really young, a kid. Oh, I had a happy youth, in case you want to go all Freudian on me, heh.

So, I've been following all missions,... From Viking, when I was six. Dreaming, dreaming... Lapping up all related science -and fiction. Whenever I was in remote places like stone-deserts in Turkey, imagining to be on Mars, on Mars, on Mars.

Well, of course, it ain't gonna happen, I'm 35, and not an astronaut.

And now I'm afraid even those astronauts living today won't set foot on Mars, if scientists discover or really start getting convinced there is indignious life.

And I thought about that... Life on Mars... Wonderful. What a treasure for science... But they'll only let decontaminated probes land there...

But... If you think about it, If there *is* life on Mars, that's nothing special.

*if* there's life on Mars, it's bound to be virtually everywhere. The icy moons, Venus, maybe the clouds of Jupiter. Probability calculation 101. If you pick two planets, go looking for life, and both turn up positive...

So I say: go and set foot there, heck even start terraforming by introducing primitive Earthlife. If there's indignious life, we'll maybe find it. And we'll know the solar-system will be teeming with it. If we don't find it, it's either not there, or it's deep underground, and very probably better adapted to Mars than our puny new introduced lifeforms. So it won't be wiped out.
If we raise the temperature, and there *is* life, it will profit from the better circumstances, too. For it very probably developed in a warmr, wetter past. and genes have a 'memory,' which gives them the possibility to adapt fairy quickly to situations their ancesters lived in. (See neo-Darwinists like R. Dawkins et al...)

Mars is beautiful as it is. But ecopoeisis could add to its beauty.

If there's life, we shouldn't be too concerned about it. By going there we could only help it.

(yep, overdrive on coffee... again...)

SpaceNut · 2004-08-18 18:07:37

I too have longed for a chance to get into space but little or none of a chance since I am not rich, powerful and nor am I member of the working Nasa clan.
But the only reason to care at all about find any form of life is to know if it would be harmful to human life.

Also any more recently introduced lifes from Earth may have hitched rides aboard ours and other nations probes of the past 30 years plus.

dicktice · 2004-08-19 13:43:03

Nobody's more harmful to human life than us humans--didn't you know? Finding extraterrestrial life not connected in any way to Earth might take us down a peg. Our religious so-called pundits sure need to be squelched, and that might be what it takes to get 'em off our backs, at least until they think up some new kind of interplanetary poisonous religious rubbish to brainwash us with.

Palomar · 2004-08-19 13:50:32

Nobody's more harmful to human life than us humans--didn't you know? Finding extraterrestrial life not connected in any way to Earth might take us down a peg. Our religious so-called pundits sure need to be squelched, and that might be what it takes to get 'em off our backs, at least until they think up some kind of interplanetary religious rubbish to brainwash us with.

*Lol...

Dick Tice, I really enjoy your forthrightness.

--Cindy

REB · 2004-08-20 13:38:07

If we find life on Mars, I bet it is related to Earth-life. I am still betting some microbes have arrived on Mars from the Earth either by meteors or probes.

If Mars life is found, and it turns out to be unique from Earth life then we need to study it extensively. If it is just microbes, that have not evolved in millions or billions of years, I say place them in a Mars microbe zoo, freeze some, and terraform the place. Why? If they have not evolved past microbes in the first four billion years of the Sun’s life, they will probably not evolve the last four billion years of the Sun’s life.

Now if there turns out to be unique Mars life that is more complex than microbes, then we need to tread lightly. Once studied, we would probably find they are confined to localized niche’s. these small habitats could be isolated and sealed up from the rest of Mars, then terraform the place.

If complex life is found all over the planet, and it is evolving, then we should leave Mars alone to the Martians.

More simply put, if Mars life exist (unique from the Earth), but it is going no where evolutionary, and (left to its own) will not evolve before the Sun dies, then yes, humans should make Mars a home and terraform the place.

If there is Mars life (Unique from the Earth) and it is evolving, then leave Mars alone (Unless it is confined to a small area and the rest of the planet is sterile.)

How about this question: Suppose we find Mars life that is unique from the Earth, but it is not evolving. Should we give it an evolutionary boost and see where it evolves too? Terraforming could do just that.

Rxke · 2004-08-20 14:51:14

How about this question: Suppose we find Mars life that is unique from the Earth, but it is not evolving. Should we give it an evolutionary boost and see where it evolves too? Terraforming could do just that.

That's why I think Terraforming wouldn't harm indignious life.

And *if* it's unique (non-Earth related) then it is... not unique...

It would make the probability of finding life in other places than Earth and Mars so much bigger. Think about it. You visit two plaanets, and you find life on two planets....

So, in that case the 200% neccessity to preserve it *at all costs* would become a lot lower.

Of course we will preserve it, to study etc, and it has rights, too... but saying humans can't tread there would be over the top. Survival of the fittest.
It would mean life is very probably everywhere, and given a chance, it would spread. That's what life does.

That chance is evolution into a space-faring race. We got so far, so we should go.

(Rather extreme:)

The alternative is waiting millions-billions of years, staying 'home' and eventually get Marsiformed by the then evolved Martians!

dicktice · 2004-08-21 12:09:47

Nobody's more harmful to human life than us humans--didn't you know? Finding extraterrestrial life not connected in any way to Earth might take us down a peg. Our religious so-called pundits sure need to be squelched, and that might be what it takes to get 'em off our backs, at least until they think up some kind of interplanetary religious rubbish to brainwash us with.
*Lol...
Dick Tice, I really enjoy your forthrightness.
--Cindy

Sorry, Cindy, but you replied before I'd inserted "new" and "poisonous" to my diatribe, in view of the latest world news.

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#1 2004-08-18 14:25:35

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

#2 2004-08-18 18:07:37

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

#3 2004-08-19 13:43:03

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

#4 2004-08-19 13:50:32

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

#5 2004-08-20 13:38:07

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

#6 2004-08-20 14:51:14

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

#7 2004-08-21 12:09:47

Re: Life on Mars... Should we care? - I say no, terraform the place!

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