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Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
Life On Mars? "Maybe," Says NASA

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twophrasebark
01/20/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
I wonder it tastes like.

I mean the life on mars.
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twophrasebark
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
Methane = abundant source of fuel

Fuel = Colonization
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Imagism
01/20/09

@twophrasebark:

Colonization = massive investment

Let the race begin!
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Imagism
01/20/09

@Imagism: On a more serious note though, it would have to be such a massive amount of methane that would justify advancing the technology the technology so much, that we could transport the methane back (or maybe move there) efficiently enough to be profitable.
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twophrasebark
01/20/09

@Imagism: Oh, yeah, I just mean we could use the methane when we get there. I wasn't thinking of trying to bring it back.

But there is some compound on the moon which could power our planets for a few hundred years. I can't remember what it is called, but that might be worth hauling back...
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twophrasebark
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
I think that the discovery of life on mars will be extremely disruptive religiously and culturally. It's just not in our contemporary worldview that we are not unique.

It will be SO disruptive that I think even an administration like Obama's might think twice about releasing the information. Or at least try to temper it. Yes, sounds conspiracy theory-ish, but as they say on every science fiction show: "You're world is not ready."
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Klebert L. Hall
01/20/09

@twophrasebark:

It won't disrupt diddly, and it won't threaten religious worldviews. Religious worldviews are generally based upon deities that are (a) omnipotent (b) mysterious. When you combine those two characteristics, nothing can contradict your beliefs.

"It will be SO disruptive that I think even an administration like Obama's might think twice about releasing the information."

Any government officials that make a decision like that should be burned alive. It's none of their business to make judgments of that nature - they work for us, not the other way around.

Besides, the idea that they might cover it up is preposterous.

-Kle.
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Imagism
01/20/09

@Klebert L. Hall:

Your post's content makes me sad,

But your attitude makes me giggle.
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twophrasebark
01/20/09

@Klebert L. Hall:

I don't know what I was thinking. Can you imagine if we ever had an administration that tampered with and edited scientific reports and conclusions and pressured heads of agencies and scientists from NASA to the Energy Department?

That would be crazy!!!!!!
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twophrasebark
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
The hed for this piece should have been "Life on Mars" and included following pic:

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Meirelle
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
Whoa. This is like that headline you had a while back that said SETI found signals from other star systems, and then the article was a big letdown.

Except this time, I'm still excited after reading the article. :D
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Kris Hill
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
They found where Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens are hiding.
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Meirelle
01/19/09

@Kris Hill: lol You made me snort cola out of my nose.
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CalderMedusa
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
Over abundance of methane? I think we all know what this means. Dragons. In retrospect it seems so obvious, that, at some point during the middle ages, all the Dragons packed up everything that proved they existed (other than paintings and stories, which they knew people would eventually take as fables) and moved to Mars. I feel like an idiot for not realizing this sooner.
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twophrasebark
01/19/09

Paul, is that you?

You sound just like my friend Paul. Who is awesome.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
I know everyone wants it to be microbes, but how many previous discoveries have we seen touted as "Possible Evidence Of Life On Mars!" that end up a year or two later as "Whoops, sorry, just chemistry" or geology or error.

Got a feeling this will be the same.

AFAIK, life on Mars is just a song and a couple of cop shows.
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92BuickLeSabre
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
I'm firmly convinced that if there is microbial life on Mars it is ultimately going to lead to the end of life on earth.

Seriously. If it's there? Just leave it there. Test it there. You don't need to look at it in person. You don't need a sample. Do. Not. Bring. It. Back.
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Gann
01/19/09

@92BuickLeSabre: You do have a point, but the odds are much greater that the abundance of life here on earth would kill it before it could do any damage. Maybe we could compromise and run preliminary tests in LEO?
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92BuickLeSabre
01/19/09

@Hamslicer: Wasn't it? And I was able to make it from all the way over here.

@Gann: I don't know. I'm guessing anything surviving under the Martian surface could kick our wussy-atmosphere-addicted bio-organisms' asses. We may have the strength of diversity, but it's got the strength of being exposed to the universe for millions of years.

@LittleDragon: I will absolutely do that for you. I have everything ready except for the space ship and some supplies.
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Gann
01/19/09

@92BuickLeSabre: Where as we have evolved in a place other than the universe? An organism that evolves in an extreme environment like that would likely be very specialized, and much less successful than us at living in our native environment.
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Gann
01/19/09

@Gann: But of course, the risks (even though they are minuscule) far outweigh the benefits so I actually agree with keeping martian life at arms length for the initial decade of tests.
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Meirelle
01/19/09

@92BuickLeSabre: Scientific progress far outweighs the lives of seven billion people.
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NefariousNewt
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
Maybe eating all those failed probes/rovers gave the planet gas?
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tnmnsquare
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
so none of this matters until we can find a way of exploring those areas without completely contaminating them with our Earth-Space Microbes, right? I mean, does NASA have to scrap a whole generation of space probes now or what? I am ever so curious what kind of materials one would need to use for this sort of thing. Its weird futuro ethics!
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twDarkflame
01/19/09

@tnmnsquare: Its unlikely anything we dump on there would be of the quanity nesscery to actualy show up on atmospheric readings.
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goldfarb
01/19/09

@twDarkflame: and this kink of thing:

[www.sciencedirect.com]
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OMG! Ponies!
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
I'd be seething too if I had to be associated with Total Recall, Red Planet, and Mission to Mars.
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Grey_Area
01/19/09

@OMG! Ponies!: And John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars.

"OOOh! OOOhh! I'm just... this makes me SO...Arrgh!"
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Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon
01/19/09

@Grey_Area: Of course you know, this means War! Now I'll fetch my b26 space modulator...
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Grey_Area
01/19/09

@Anekanta: I LOVE earth-Shattering Kabooms!
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What is a man?
01/19/09

In reply to Life May Be Seething Under the Martian Crust, Say Scientists
I dunno if I'd read that information and say there's a "strong likelihood" of life being there, but it's certainly becoming more and more of a possibility.
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Annalee Newitz
01/19/09

@What is a man?: Yes, it is a strong likelihood. There are basically only two possibilities, and life is one of them. In fact, both possibilities could be true: there could be life and volcanic activity. This is the very best evidence for life we've ever had.
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twDarkflame
01/19/09

@What is a man?: Strong maybe a bit harsh, but it bowls down too either Life, or very recent geological activity.

Either massively changes what we thought.

Geologicaly activity is, apperently, a bit of a puzzle if it does exist, because mars magnetic field is so weak.
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Grey_Area
01/19/09

@twDarkflame: Yah. My understanding was that Mars is pretty dormant tectonically. There are those 4 big-ass shield volcanoes but they seem to have blown their wad a long time ago. There might be some vulcanisim accounting for the methane seeping through the sands and fines but I'd rather believe that this is biology.

Keeping pseudopods crossed!
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Gann
01/19/09

@What is a man?: Whether or not there is actual life, they have found the potential for it. These conditions could facilitate engineering an organism to begin a terra-forming process to make it eventually habitable.
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