Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

brown.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 128 posts

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#91

Post by zoomablemind »

I know, it may sound absolutely irresponsible, but have the scientists considered practical benefits of sending in some bacterial life from Earth to let it try to colonize the remote destinations ahead of sending in humans for the same purpose?

Supposedly, micro-life has better chance to adapt to new environments, as long as the basic resource is available.

In case of Mars, humans lack the basic resources - water and oxygen. But could there be some bacterial life on Earth which could make use of the abundant carbon dioxide and could adapt to the harsh conditions?

Or such an approach would 'spoil' those worlds for the humans and take the conditions out of control?

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#92

Post by anigbrowl »

f430 wrote: post #48
ben_w wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only obvious examples of either are the ones humans put there — the probes, the rovers, the Apollo Lunar Modules and associated material.

so you mean we've figured out how to build large structures outside planet earth without the public knowing?

Show us your best evidence. I'm not going to waste my time looking for something you may dismiss as being from an invalid source.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#93

Post by waheoo »

zoomablemind wrote: post #91

I know, it may sound absolutely irresponsible, but have the scientists considered practical benefits of sending in some bacterial life from Earth to let it try to colonize the remote destinations ahead of sending in humans for the same purpose? Supposedly, micro-life has better chance to adapt to new environments, as long as the basic resource is available. In case of Mars, humans lack the basic resources - water and…

More irresponsible than letting the human race exhaust and suffocate itself on this planet?

At some point we need to realise colonizing another planet is going to be necessary, and it is going to cause lots of damage.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#94

Post by fnord77 »

waheoo wrote: post #93
zoomablemind wrote: post #91

I know, it may sound absolutely irresponsible, but have the scientists considered practical benefits of sending in some bacterial life from Earth to let it try to colonize the remote destinations ahead of sending in humans for the same purpose? Supposedly, micro-life has better chance to adapt to new environments, as long as the basic resource is available. In case of Mars, humans lack the basic resources - water and…

More irresponsible than letting the human race exhaust and suffocate itself on this planet? At some point we need to realise colonizing another planet is going to be necessary, and it is going to cause lots of damage.

we'll have exhausted this planet a thousand years before we'd have the technology to make Mars habitable. It just isn't going to happen for numerous reasons. The biggest are the lower gravity and the very weak magnetosphere.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#95

Post by f430 »

anigbrowl wrote: post #92
f430 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so you mean we've figured out how to build large structures outside planet earth without the public knowing?

Show us your best evidence. I'm not going to waste my time looking for something you may dismiss as being from an invalid source.

likewise.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#96

Post by f430 »

OmicronCeti wrote: post #63
f430 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so you mean we've figured out how to build large structures outside planet earth without the public knowing?

Please link to any of these 'large structures' otherwise we'll just continue to assume this is being pulled from your ass.

Rather not waste time finding photos which you will just argue is fake or not possible because of your "PhD" accreditation.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#97

Post by chmod600 »

waheoo wrote: post #93
zoomablemind wrote: post #91

I know, it may sound absolutely irresponsible, but have the scientists considered practical benefits of sending in some bacterial life from Earth to let it try to colonize the remote destinations ahead of sending in humans for the same purpose? Supposedly, micro-life has better chance to adapt to new environments, as long as the basic resource is available. In case of Mars, humans lack the basic resources - water and…

More irresponsible than letting the human race exhaust and suffocate itself on this planet? At some point we need to realise colonizing another planet is going to be necessary, and it is going to cause lots of damage.

We've only had much technology for a few hundred years. There's an argument that we should give it another few hundred to prepare a bit better. If we rush it, we might destroy valuable information or even forclose some opportunities.

But ultimately you're right. We will blunder our way onto Mars at some point.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#98

Post by Ericson2314 »

foobiter wrote: post #77
throwawayboise wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even so the galaxy (let alone the universe) is huge, and faster-than -light or extra-dimensional travel is probably impossible. Contact with another civilization is extremely unlikely even if life is abundant in the galaxy.

the universe is huge and time is long, there could be millions of civilizations and we could happen to exist at a time that doesn’t coincide with a single one

The universe is extremely young. We might just be tied for first, if it takes 3rd generation stars for example.

Re: Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life: study

#99

Post by chpatrick »

zoomablemind wrote: post #91

I know, it may sound absolutely irresponsible, but have the scientists considered practical benefits of sending in some bacterial life from Earth to let it try to colonize the remote destinations ahead of sending in humans for the same purpose? Supposedly, micro-life has better chance to adapt to new environments, as long as the basic resource is available. In case of Mars, humans lack the basic resources - water and…

We would never find out if life developed outside of earth.
Post reply on HN