Mars is probably dead

[Super Nova]

I think we should look a little more, not find life and begin sending life there to reform the planet. It will take a long time and it is time to start spreading life through this region of the galaxy. We are the borg.

Scientific interest in finding life on other planets if important however there comes a point where we need to invest lifeless planets with our own lifeform. If we miss an existing lifeform because it is underground in rocks and is the most basic of all forms, we will kill it or it will thrive eating the life we send. Time to play god.

Toxic Compounds May Sterilize Martian Soil
Microbes could be killed off by perchlorates exposed to ultraviolet radiation on the planet’s surface

The Martian surface may be even less hospitable to life than scientists had thought.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation streaming from the sun "activates" chlorine compounds in the Red Planet's soil, turning them into potent microbe-killers, a new study suggests.

Full article here.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... tian-soil/

[freediver]

Spot the circular logic.

I am sure they would kill earthly microbes that are not used to them, but would be perfectly safe for martian microbes that are. How they they get that nonsense published?

As for your point about populating planets, we have barely scratched the surface in terms of looking for life on mars. There are extremophiles on our own planet that we are still discovering. Whole communities of them.

Plus, if it is that hostile to life, we will have to start from the ground up, as nothing from here will survive. If we want to grow something that is actually useful to us, give us a few more centuries to come up with the technology. Mars is not going anywhere. Might as well do it right. The wrong life forms can completely mess with a planet's chemistry. Earth has been through massive changes due to different types of life forms.

[Bobby]

Good post,
yes the soil is like White King bleach:
http://www.cleansupply.com.au/files/msd ... BLEACH.pdf

Whereas on Earth we have seawater that we can't drink due to it's salt content -
on Mars the water is contaminated with perchlorates.
So the water on Mars would kill us with even a small drink.
The microbes are killed too.

What a pity - Mars is most likely dead unless there are areas
of underground water that are not contaminated.
We do have water bores on Earth that have good drinking water but
a lot of them are full of Uranium & other toxic compounds.

[Super Nova]

Good points FD. If there is life it will be more resilient than life here because it is still alive. I expect this to be embedded deep in the rocks like we find here on Earth. However once we finish discovering this or even if we don't we should think about polluting the place with something that will help transform the planet.

Your point that nothing from here will survive on the surface is worth noting and we will need to engineer something. We will start to play god or we need to build structures that protect life until we put in place something to protect life, and atmosphere ...etc.

I expect the lack of a magnetic field will be the biggest problem as anything in the atmosphere is easily stripped away why the solar winds ...etc.

However, I don't think we should wait too long before we start. A couple of hundred years is nothing in terms of time but we should plan to start. I guess if it wasn't so hostile, we would already be there polluting the crap out of the place with our infestation. For pure science the environment will only remain pristine for a small window before we leave something behind.

[Super Nova]

What a pity - Mars is most likely dead unless there are areas
of underground water that are not contaminated.
We do have water bores on Earth that have good drinking water but
a lot of them are full of Uranium & other toxic compounds.

Bobby. I expect we will need to refine any water we discover there. Nothing will be suitable for us in it's natural state. We have had 3 billion years or so to adjust this planet and we are part of the result of that adaption. That is, we are the product of our environment and any other environment will be deadly, including all water ...etc.

I think we will need to adapt genetically to survive these environment or our gift to the universe are AI robots that will populate this part of space.

[Bobby]

What a pity - Mars is most likely dead unless there are areas
of underground water that are not contaminated.
We do have water bores on Earth that have good drinking water but
a lot of them are full of Uranium & other toxic compounds.

Bobby. I expect we will need to refine any water we discover there. Nothing will be suitable for us in it's natural state. We have had 3 billion years or so to adjust this planet and we are part of the result of that adaption. That is, we are the product of our environment and any other environment will be deadly, including all water ...etc.

I think we will need to adapt genetically to survive these environment or our gift to the universe are AI robots that will populate this part of space.

Very true - my point is that we can't drink most of the water on Earth -
it's salt water -
how are we ever going to drink Martian water?

Mars is a hell hole & anyone who goes there is an idiot.

[freediver]

Good points FD. If there is life it will be more resilient than life here because it is still alive. I expect this to be embedded deep in the rocks like we find here on Earth. However once we finish discovering this or even if we don't we should think about polluting the place with something that will help transform the planet.

Your point that nothing from here will survive on the surface is worth noting and we will need to engineer something. We will start to play god or we need to build structures that protect life until we put in place something to protect life, and atmosphere ...etc.

I expect the lack of a magnetic field will be the biggest problem as anything in the atmosphere is easily stripped away why the solar winds ...etc.

However, I don't think we should wait too long before we start. A couple of hundred years is nothing in terms of time but we should plan to start. I guess if it wasn't so hostile, we would already be there polluting the crap out of the place with our infestation. For pure science the environment will only remain pristine for a small window before we leave something behind.

There may be far more value in studying what is there than transforming the planet. Like studying the rainforest before we chop it all down for palm oil plantations. It will take a long time to rule out life hidden away.

Can you imagine being responsible for sending extinct the only alien life humanity has discovered?

[Bobby]

Good points FD. If there is life it will be more resilient than life here because it is still alive. I expect this to be embedded deep in the rocks like we find here on Earth. However once we finish discovering this or even if we don't we should think about polluting the place with something that will help transform the planet.

Your point that nothing from here will survive on the surface is worth noting and we will need to engineer something. We will start to play god or we need to build structures that protect life until we put in place something to protect life, and atmosphere ...etc.

I expect the lack of a magnetic field will be the biggest problem as anything in the atmosphere is easily stripped away why the solar winds ...etc.

However, I don't think we should wait too long before we start. A couple of hundred years is nothing in terms of time but we should plan to start. I guess if it wasn't so hostile, we would already be there polluting the crap out of the place with our infestation. For pure science the environment will only remain pristine for a small window before we leave something behind.

There may be far more value in studying what is there than transforming the planet. Like studying the rainforest before we chop it all down for palm oil plantations. It will take a long time to rule out life hidden away.

Can you imagine being responsible for sending extinct the only alien life humanity has discovered?

FD,
We would need to drill down to great depths all over Mars to
confirm if life is there or not.
It's hard enough to get a 1 tonne rover there yet alone 1000s of tonnes of drilling equipment.

I like the idea of trying to terraform Mars.
If we could make the tiny Moon Phobos only 22km wide - crash into Mars
it could possibly transform the planet -
introducing dust & gas etc giving it an atmosphere.
Perhaps a giant nuclear explosion if front of it's orbit could slow it down
enough to make it crash into Mars?
It may seem like science fiction now but it could be possible
in the next 100 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Mars

[Super Nova]

Can you imagine being responsible for sending extinct the only alien life humanity has discovered?

That would be a scientific shame and would damage our quest to understand if life can be created any where else in the universe. A shame.

I think we should look but what do we do if we find something. We don't want the whole planet to become a wildlife reserve and humans are not allowed there.

At some point, even if we find life, we will pollute the place with our life. It is Darwinism at its finest. If they cannot handle our life form they will go extinct or adapt. To be hinest, I expect when we do find life there (if) it will be based on our DNA structure and either come from here to there or visa versa. So it will not be a new form of life.

Actually I would be concerned that anything this tough may thrive when it has life from our world to consume. It may be they will make lunch of us.

I think we will there, at some point some (hundreds of years maybe) and we need to make it livable for us.