Posted on 01/30/2007 7:23:36 PM PST by KevinDavis
Future missions may have to drill nearly 10 metres below the surface of Mars to find any life there, a new study concludes. The research suggests the best places to search for Martian life are blocks of water ice or gullies that show signs of recent water flow.
Researchers have long known that the Red Planet's surface is a harsh environment for life – with high levels of ultraviolet light from the Sun and oxidising conditions that seem to make organic molecules unstable. Charged particles – both from the Sun and from violent sources such as supernovae within the galaxy – also rain down from space, penetrating the surface and ionising molecules in their paths.
"In the case of Mars, the surface is a very nasty place to be," says Lewis Dartnell, a biologist at University College London, UK. "We've always known the deeper you go, the better."
(Excerpt) Read more at space.newscientist.com ...
Future News -- Installment #2: Scientists say future Mars expedition may have to drill down 12 meters in order to find life!
Future News -- Installment #2: Scientists say future Mars expedition may have to drill down 12 meters in order to find life!
Hey, this stuff ain't easy! I mean, we're talking rocket science here.
Seriously, these things are never easy until somebody does them.
Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it.Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love, 1973.
Martian global warming.
-PJ
Morlocks!
Life on other PlanetsHighly oxidized iron is abundant on Mars, and very small-grained magnetite can then be expected to be one of the accumulated residues of microbial processes; so can iron sulfide and methane-derived carbonates. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are the large molecules that might remain in a rock that originally contained crude oil but then was exposed for millions of years to the high vacuum of space. All these substances have been found in the discovery meteorite, closely packaged to each other, and this by itself would make a strong case for the microbial interpretation. In addition, there are small objects seen under scanning electron microscopy that may well be fossils of microbes. While the last item by itself would not be conclusive evidence, the combination of this together with oil and the three residue products make a strong case for the microbial explanation. It is true that each step can occur without biological intervention, but the chance of finding by chance the evidence for all three solids in a small volume, together with hydrocarbons, seems to be very low. Many terrestrial oil and gas wells show just such an association (but an association with helium also, which the meteorite could not have transported through space).
by Thomas Gold
May 1997
The Deep, Hot Biosphere
by Thomas Gold
foreword by Freeman Dyson
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related:
Hints of huge water reservoirs on Mars
NewScientist.com news service | 19:00 25 January 2007 | David Shiga
Posted on 01/27/2007 9:10:38 PM EST by BenLurkin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1774878/posts
Red planet's hue due to meteors, not water
New Scientist | September 4 2003 | Hazel Muir
Posted on 12/21/2006 3:27:00 AM EST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1756678/posts
oops, I meant:
Hints Of Huge Water Reservoirs On Mars
New Scientist | 1-25-2007 | David Shiga
Posted on 01/25/2007 2:09:55 PM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1773643/posts
Yes, the Democrats, Socialists and Communists are everywhere, no doubt they have a Martian Kyoto global redistribution of wealth plan.
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. |
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Hell’s been outsourced to Mars?
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