With the detection of water ice on Mars this now means that if Mars once had surface water then it had the potential to support life.
What is your opinion on Mars supporting life?
The link below contains images of recent findings.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_medical/story.jsp?story=484180
This is probably the most monumental news of the year. I wonder if it will be usurped by the revelation that there is or was life on Mars? Surely that is the revelation of the century?
Sam Miguel
23-01-2004, 23:47
I doubt it very much. But it would be fantastic.
The Universe has got to be teeming with life, because the same c onditions that led to life on Earth must exist on millions of other planets in the Cosmos.
So, by the law of averages alone there are at least 100 million planets in the Milky Way Galaxy that can support life, not counting the hundreds of Billions in all the other Star Systems.
I'm sceptical about it to be honest...
Sure it's POSSIBLE that at some point in time there were HG Wells War of the Worlds-esque Martians living on the red planet, but if there were, how come they never invaded us?
Perhaps they did, but the Americans defeated them and hushed it all up so that it never officially happened....
Results from the Mars Global Explorer indicate that in the past Mars was a very different world. It would have had a denser atmosphere and running water on its surface. This would have made the planet more hospitable to life. The question is, if life did take root, could it have survived until the present day in the more hostile martian environment? We know there are organisms on our planet deep in the earth's crust that can exist on hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Could similar organisms be sheltering under the surface of Mars?
Sam Miguel
24-01-2004, 16:54
There may well be something under the surface. Hope they find something.
The news about water on Mars isn't so new [we've known about it some time], but the scale of things and the pictures of blue river beds full of 'sediment' hold new hope of weird and wonderful things, perhaps including life.
A few years back when I was doing my PhD I was involved in early work looking at ALH84001 [martian meteorite that was thought to have life on it] and have hoped ever since for life on mars, past or present.
Just gotta hope that mars missions continue and the little rovers don't keep breaking down, getting lost, smashing into the surface etc due to miscalculations as they have in the past :rolleyes: