NASA to annouce life on Mars

[Ned]

I was checking the Rovers site. They have no instruments on board to directly check for life. All they need is to verify that there is surface water NOW. One they have that, the 1976 experiment might be validated.

[DRoseDARs]

Well, here's hoping they do announce life (past or present) on Mars

[Space05us]

this thread calls for an excessive and utterly tasteless use of exlcamation points;

Damn you Ned that said nothing about life on Mars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!


however the prospect of water in liquid form is exciting

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Ned
I was checking the Rovers site. They have no instruments on board to directly check for life. All they need is to verify that there is surface water NOW. One they have that, the 1976 experiment might be validated.

Difficulty,
as no Experiment provided clear proof.
Some Experiments showed a positive result, others a negative Result (AFAIR it was the Experiment with the radioactively labeled nutrients which clearly showed that there was something in one of the samples of martian soil which converted them into other compunds [and which wasn´t present anymore after heating of the sanple]).

I think even if there is a proof of water it would just change the Status of the Viking Experiments from a "no Proof of Life" into a "Might be Proof of Life" as all successful experiments could also be explained with chemical causes (in this case with the work of Enzymes which could have been in the soil).
But it might be a good incentive to build a new set of Probes with Experiments to check for Life on Mars (maybe of course somehow more sophisticated than the old Viking Probes )

[Ned]

Proteus, well if they find surface water, the articles suggest that life is almost a certainty even if it came from earth.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Space05us
this thread calls for an excessive and utterly tasteless use of exlcamation points;

Damn you Ned that said nothing about life on Mars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!


however the prospect of water in liquid form is exciting

Hey Space, yes it did. Check out the link to the discussion of the 1976 Viking lander that did detect life in one experiment. Apparently NASA did not find this experiment conclusive based on its assumption that the same results could have been produced by an oxidant in the soil.

But, if the current landers do not find any such oxidants, but instead find water...

Here is the link to the "life on Mars" article linked by the referenced article.

http://www.space.com/news/spacehistory/viking_life_010728-1.html

[Edan]

We get to finally meet our Martian overlords!

[uh Clem]

They found life but they won't announce it because the life forms are gay.

[Eli]

Bah.

After this thread title, even an announcement about water in the soil doesnt seem to be exciting. :/

[Tripledoc]

If there is life, probably bacteria, (vira is not technically life, but need a host), then the people who eventually go there can't come back. Quarantine restrictions must apply.

So finding life on Mars is not good news in my opinion.

Even sending back detailed analysis of the life found, might infect the recievers on earth with a computer virus.

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Tripledoc

Even sending back detailed analysis of the life found, might infect the recievers on earth with a computer virus.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Tripledoc
If there is life, probably bacteria, (vira is not technically life, but need a host), then the people who eventually go there can't come back. Quarantine restrictions must apply.

So finding life on Mars is not good news in my opinion.

Never thought of this. Can this be true?

[Tripledoc]

Originally posted by Ned


Never thought of this. Can this be true?

I don¨t know. If you were minister of health, would you allow an astronaut who had been exposed to alien bacteria to mingle with people on Earth?

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Ned

Never thought of this. Can this be true?

Don´t think so.
It would mean that special measures have to be taken,
for example bringing the Astronauts into a sealed Environment upon Landing (directly from the Landing Capsule, without any Exposure to fresh air) a letting them stay there under medical examination for some time.
But AFAIK most of them are measures which were also in Effect at the Beginning of Spacetravel (Apollo-Program and the like) as they already feared that the Astronauts could bring some Bacteriae from Moon to Earth..

But aside from this I doubt that any special measures would have to be taken.
But special Quarantine measures should also be taken to sterilize any probes which are sent to Mars, as Microorganisms from Earth could as well pollute Mars.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Tripledoc


I don¨t know. If you were minister of health, would you allow an astronaut who had been exposed to alien bacteria to mingle with people on Earth?

Only after he'd got in the decontamination room and rubbed grease all over T'Pol