Planetary geologists have suspected that there was at least subsurface ice on Mars, due to the presence of structures that resemble craters in Iceland. These craters are caused when lava flows over areas with abundant groundwater or permafrost; the heat of the lava causes a violent vaporization, and the steam move upwards with explosive force.
The new evidence suggests that the ice thaws cyclically, indicating that Mars experiences seasons.
Whether there is any life on Mars is still up for debates. It has typically been hypothesized that you need warm waters rich in organic compounds and inorganic nutrients for life. There is evidence that Mars once had a sea the size to the Arctic, but it has long since dried up. Of course, there may be other scenarios for the formation of life that we haven’t considered due to difference between early Earth conditions and the environment of the celestial body.
Ted B. (Charging Rhino)says
The trouble is that if they find even one Martian bacterium or amoeba on Mars, the tree-huggers will band together to have Mars declared “off-limits to Man’s interference”. Fewer robot explorers, no manned explorations allowed, and certainly banning any colonization or future terraforming.
mikesays
“The trouble is that if they find even one Martian bacterium or amoeba on Mars, the tree-huggers will band together to have Mars declared “off-limits to Man’s interference”
If you remember the Star Trek – The Next Generation, Episode “home soil” intelligent life can take many forms. To them we were “Ugly Bags of Water”
So it is right to be careful before we start altering an environment.
Planetary geologists have suspected that there was at least subsurface ice on Mars, due to the presence of structures that resemble craters in Iceland. These craters are caused when lava flows over areas with abundant groundwater or permafrost; the heat of the lava causes a violent vaporization, and the steam move upwards with explosive force.
The new evidence suggests that the ice thaws cyclically, indicating that Mars experiences seasons.
Whether there is any life on Mars is still up for debates. It has typically been hypothesized that you need warm waters rich in organic compounds and inorganic nutrients for life. There is evidence that Mars once had a sea the size to the Arctic, but it has long since dried up. Of course, there may be other scenarios for the formation of life that we haven’t considered due to difference between early Earth conditions and the environment of the celestial body.
The trouble is that if they find even one Martian bacterium or amoeba on Mars, the tree-huggers will band together to have Mars declared “off-limits to Man’s interference”. Fewer robot explorers, no manned explorations allowed, and certainly banning any colonization or future terraforming.
“The trouble is that if they find even one Martian bacterium or amoeba on Mars, the tree-huggers will band together to have Mars declared “off-limits to Man’s interference”
If you remember the Star Trek – The Next Generation, Episode “home soil” intelligent life can take many forms. To them we were “Ugly Bags of Water”
So it is right to be careful before we start altering an environment.