RE: [Utah-astronomy] (From NASA) Mars - Recent Gushing Water and NewCraters
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 -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 4:38 PM To: utah astronomy listserve utah astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] (From NASA) Mars - Recent Gushing Water and NewCraters Multimedia Advisory Dec. 6, 2006 Mars: Recent Gushing Water and New Craters A pair of significant discoveries about the red planet appears in this week's journal Science: evidence that, within the past five or seven years, water gushed on Mars in two gullies, and 20 new impact craters formed on the planet. The evidence comes from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, managed by JPL. Audio and visual products now playing at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ multimedia/ include: . A slideshow with images that provide evidence of recent water flows on Mars . A web video/podcast about the discoveries . An audio podcast interview with Dr. Michael Malin, principal investigator for the camera that made the discoveries More information on Mars Global Surveyor, which launched Nov. 7, 1996, is at at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mgs/ or http:// mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/ . -end- _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Good points, Seth. Ultimately, it does mean contamination in both directions. Mars will not remain pristine; earth will become innoculated. Looking at the far, far distant future, when/if Mars is terraformed or at least peppered with outposts and various habitations, this bridge will have to be crossed. And our track record of environmental stewardship, as a species, isn't a good one. Hopefully there will be a "honeymoon" period of identification, classification, and study before the cross-contamination happens, but I don't see any way out of it in the long run. --- Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote:
Does our exploration of Mars put the planet at risk for bio-contamination?
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I agree on the hugeness of this discovery. My son, Sky, working on his physics Ph.D. at the U. of Arizona, figured that out before I did. Here's part of a note he sent me yesterday. -- Joe A couple years ago, the ESA's Mars Express found what looked like spectral lines for methane in the red planet's atmosphere. Methane should only be able to last temporarily. Therefore, any methane on Mars must have been produced recently. The explanations proposed were recent volcanism and biological activity. There certainly are volcanoes an Mars, but they are ancient. If liquid water exists beneath Mars' surface, then that provides a mechanism for biological processes. I believe Mars has all the right chemical ingredients for life. Up until now, the one thing it lacked was liquid water.
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
participants (4)
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Chuck Hards -
Joe Bauman -
Kim -
Seth Jarvis