Is there Life on Mars?

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#2031810 8-Jun-2018 07:03

NASA found organic material

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-finds-ancient-organic-material-mysterious-methane-on-mars/

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Fred99

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#2031828 8-Jun-2018 07:23

Found two things:

Organic molecules from heating sedimentary rock consistent with the type of compounds you'd get from heating rock which contained coal etc.

Confirmation that there is seasonal variation in methane levels. That's in the same area as the rock samples were tested (Gale crater). Not really a completely new discovery - variation in methane levels had been seen before, but this confirmation is also correlating with Martian seasons.

So, evidence showing what you'd expect to see if there had been organic life living in an ancient lake (but could have been from something else), and evidence showing what you'd expect to see if some life still existed (but could also be from something else).

tdgeek

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#2031830 8-Jun-2018 07:26

Given todays technology, I'm a bit surprised they cannot be at the point where they can say its most likely or is, true organic evidence, or it isnt.

Fred99

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#2031834 8-Jun-2018 07:34

tdgeek:

Given todays technology, I'm a bit surprised they cannot be at the point where they can say its most likely or is, true organic evidence, or it isnt.

I doubt it's easy to pack every bit of test equipment that might be needed - as well as consumables that the test equipment might need - into a small enough package which is also robust enough to make it to Mars and survive.

I think they should send an unmanned probe to Mars, pick up samples, and bring them back. Humans not needed as passengers.

MikeB4

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#2031835 8-Jun-2018 07:35

damn flatulent Martians

tdgeek

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#2031849 8-Jun-2018 07:58

Fred99:

tdgeek:

Given todays technology, I'm a bit surprised they cannot be at the point where they can say its most likely or is, true organic evidence, or it isnt.

I doubt it's easy to pack every bit of test equipment that might be needed - as well as consumables that the test equipment might need - into a small enough package which is also robust enough to make it to Mars and survive.

I think they should send an unmanned probe to Mars, pick up samples, and bring them back. Humans not needed as passengers.

If they did that, the extra weight for the return trip could be used to better analyse the samples? Seems to me that the equipment on Curiosity isnt great if it can detect organic evidence but still be no further ahead. "Found organic evidence, it may be biological, or not"

freitasm

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#2031853 8-Jun-2018 08:17

The cost of sending lots of stuff there without any evidence is probably more than sending more stuff now that they know something.

Batman

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#2031862 8-Jun-2018 08:30

tdgeek:

Batman:

tdgeek:

Possibly. But life isnt an accident. Its science and nature. A workmate gave me a book, where the odds of life were unbelievably astronomical, no pun intended. As in lining up so many ducks. IMHO life is not rare, its not lucky. If you have liquid water etc, and electricity it can be created. The ingredients exist throughout the universe. Not many are exo planets, nor may have a Great Bombardment to add water. But water is in fact common. One of there moons in the outer gas planets is a lot of ice, and has tectonic activity, so they predict it has water under the cap. That just this minor, and mini solar system

That means there's either an alien computer simulation, or there is a something in the science and nature who wanted it to happen?

What is your point? You can either

A) Agree with me

B) Disagree and explain your fact/opinion/belief and why

Fred99

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#2031863 8-Jun-2018 08:31

tdgeek:

"Found organic evidence, it may be biological, or not"

About 50 years of analysis, and there's still a question of whether the organic compounds in the Murchison meteorite could be evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Oil (or some of the oil) on Earth may have an abiogenetic origin.

I think we need samples back here, on the chance that they may contain irrefutable evidence of life.

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#2031864 8-Jun-2018 08:32

Fred99:

tdgeek:

"Found organic evidence, it may be biological, or not"

About 50 years of analysis, and there's still a question of whether the organic compounds in the Murchison meteorite could be evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Oil (or some of the oil) on Earth may have an abiogenetic origin.

I think we need samples back here, on the chance that they may contain irrefutable evidence of life.

They don't even know where the bacteria on the outside of the ISS comes from. Some are blaming the dirty Russians.

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#2031866 8-Jun-2018 08:37

Fred99:

tdgeek:

"Found organic evidence, it may be biological, or not"

About 50 years of analysis, and there's still a question of whether the organic compounds in the Murchison meteorite could be evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Oil (or some of the oil) on Earth may have an abiogenetic origin.

I think we need samples back here, on the chance that they may contain irrefutable evidence of life.

Yep, given that we are apparently keen to live on Mars, developing a to and from transport system seems the way forward

Fred99

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#2031869 8-Jun-2018 08:49

Batman:

They don't even know where the bacteria on the outside of the ISS comes from. Some are blaming the dirty Russians.

I think they're pretty sure they come from the upper atmosphere - the ISS isn't in deep space.

Which is similar to another problem. If we find evidence of life on Mars, we better be 100% sure it wasn't something we put there since 1971.

1eStar

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#2031871 8-Jun-2018 08:54

Can someone explain why it is so imperative to know whether life is/was/will be on Mars?

MikeB4

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#2031885 8-Jun-2018 09:03

@1eStar I think because it's there, or maybe so we can screw them too. But I guess man is a nosey beast.

Fred99

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#2031888 8-Jun-2018 09:10

tdgeek:

Yep, given that we are apparently keen to live on Mars, developing a to and from transport system seems the way forward

Not me. I spend 3 hours freaking out on a plane to Aus - worrying that I've forgotten to pack enough pairs of underpants and the charger for my cellphone.

I'd spend the 6 month trip there thinking about what'll happen if I got appendicitis, how the DIY appendectomy instructions with 10-20 minute lag time were going to turn out, and a bit of concern as to how well the long past use-by date antibiotics were going to work.

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