I love it! It does indeed mean that we are closer to finding life beyond the Earth. Seth, you raise important questions. Chuck is also right - as a species we don't have a good track record. There are countless analogous examples on our own world where exotic "contaminants" were introduced to other environments from foreign sources. (Think of the decimation of 50 million native north Americans by the introduction of foreign diseases due to European exploration and settlement.) Two years ago - or three, I forget - I taught a college astronomy course. I told my students that I expected several things to happen in the next few years: (1) The discovery of liquid water on Mars; (2) The discovery of life beyond the Earth, probably first on Mars; (3) The direct imaging of extrasolar planets; (4) The detection and direct imaging of extrasolar earth-like planets with the possibility of extrasolar life. I'm no prophet, any knowledgeable person could make the same predictions. I'm just pleased that I was right about one of them. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 9:40 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] (From NASA) Mars - Recent Gushing Water andNewCraters This is HUGE news. I'm amazed that the press is being so nonchalant about it. Folks, there is liquid water on Mars _right now_. The odds that this water is biologically sterile are extremely remote. The questions raised by NASA's announcement are now quite urgent: Does our exploration of Mars put the planet at risk for bio-contamination? How certain are we that we'll be able to guarantee that Martian soil samples returned to Earth can be adequately quarantined? (Remember the Genesis mission?) Assuming there is some kind of simple life on Mars, is it even remotely possible to speak of human exploration of the planet without cross-contamination? Recall that Apollo astronauts came back from the moon filthy from moon dust. What mechanisms keep the below-ground water warm enough to flow? Seth