If life on Mars theory holds water, what does it mean?

The Age (Australia) ^ | 1.24.04 | The Age

[ambrose]

  Print this article |   Close this windowIf life on Mars theory holds water, what does it mean?

January 25, 2004

A European mission to Mars has found further evidence that the stuff of life - water - may exist on our red neighbour. Lucy Beaumont reports.

It may only be a thin blue line on the red planet, but it is set to spark a debate about life as we know it.

The European Space Agency's unmanned spacecraft Mars Express has discovered evidence of frozen water at the planet's south pole, backing NASA findings made in 2002. If the planet does hold water, the possibility of extraterrestrial life, past or present, may also become more than just science fiction.

According to Monash University philosopher John Bigelow, humans could not resist linking scientific findings with their quest for meaning: "It touches on our deepest need to know where we came from . . . whether there's always been life or if it originated.

"One possibility is that life developed completely separately on Mars as well as on Earth. The other possibility is that life came to Mars from Earth or to Earth from Mars," Professor Bigelow said.

ESA project leader Michael McKay said confirmation of the presence of frozen water came in high-resolution pictures of the planet's south pole beamed from Mars Express, the mothership of the Beagle 2 probe, which is feared to have crashed while trying to land on Mars a month ago.

Swinburne University astrophysicist Sarah Maddison said the finding of H2O, using infrared chemical analysis, was significant.

"We've known for a long time that the polar caps of Mars are carbon-dioxide ice and it has been thought for a long time that there's probably a water-ice base," Dr Maddison said.

"The fact that there is water ice there lends more weight to the previous hypotheses that there used to be a lot of water on Mars."

Monash University's Andrew Prentice, who is involved with NASA's upcoming mission to Saturn, was thrilled by the latest finding, after having theorised that Mars was the most water-rich of all the solar system's planets.

Dr Prentice's calculations suggested Mars had as much water as Earth, despite being one-tenth its size. The origins of both planets, about 4.5 billion years ago, supported this, he said.

"Mars formed at a cooler temperature than the Earth. So if Earth was successful at capturing water then Mars would have been even more successful."

Other experts reserved judgement on the finding. Melbourne University senior research fellow Nick Hoffman has theorised that ice on Mars was carbon dioxide and therefore not supportive of life. He expected radar data, to be gathered in the next few months, to be more definitive.

But the Mars Express finding gave theologians an exciting new realm of possibility, said Francis Macnab, chief minister at St Michael's Uniting Church, Melbourne.

"It could be that life had many sources and many forms," he said.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/24/1074732656967.html

[ambrose]

The Mars Express captured this image, suggesting the existence of water-ice, from 273 kilometres above Mars. Picture: AFP

[farmfriend]

ping

[Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh]

Is there water in that picture or not? Who says channels are formed by water, as opposed to lava, hot gas, etc?

[marron]

The presence of water ice simplifies the establishment of a base. Once you get your water-treatment skid up and running you don't have to worry about hauling nearly so much from earth. That translates into smaller ships, or ships whose cargo capacity can be used for other tools and supplies.

[gnawbone]

If Mars used to have a bunch of water and it is now gone ... what happened? Were there a bunch of Republicans up there driving around in SUVs that caused this? Oh, the humanity .....

[Valin]

The presence of water ice simplifies the establishment of a base.

Memo: pack galoshes

[VRW Conspirator]

The presence of water ice simplifies the establishment of a base.

True. Then NASA ought to go to The MacDonalds corporation and ask them to open up a Mikie D's there to promote economic growth.

[Phil V.]

If you'd like to be on or off this MARS ping list please FRail me

[adam_az]

"If life on Mars theory holds water, what does it mean?"

We will be subjected to another decades worth of bad headline puns

[ancient_geezer]

Abrose, taking a look on ESA's website and info on that picture it is not clear that that is nothing more a color rendition of depth from their 3D cameras, much like a colorcoded topomap. I doubt very much the greens and blues are from water or chlorophyll. Either would be assayable from spectrographic data available to the satellite instrumentation. That kind of result has not been claimed by ESU in any of their reports, and certainly would be news of the first magnitude if it were the case.

That particular picture is a computer reconstuction of height derived from their 3D cameras from an overhead view. The color may just range red, yellow, green, blue from high to low relative altitude, * luminosity of the original picture.

[ambrose]

It definitely isn't a real picture. It looks like some sort of lithograph you might find for sale in an art galley. Still, any evidence of water/ice is pretty darn exciting.

[ancient_geezer]

The ESA release from which the main article derives appears be this one, indicating the near surface atmosphere in the polar region as having the indications of water vapor;

http://www.esa.int/export/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEM8ZB474OD_0.html

Mars Express sees its first water – scientific results
 
23 January 2004   ESA PR 06-2004. Mars Express, ESA’s first mission to Mars, will reach its final orbit on 28 January. It has already been producing stunning results since its first instrument was switched on, on 5 January. The significance of the first data was emphasised by the scientists at a European press conference today at ESA’s Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany.

And not Reull Vallis of your perspective view

[ambrose]

Here's one issue... if Mars does have water, wouldn't it be a finite resource? In other words, if we colonize Mars and tap its water resources, wouldn't it eventually run out since there's no evidence of rain on Mars?

[DB]

If you "use" the water, it doesn't disappear.

Just like water here, it gets used over and over...

[Doc On The Bay]

"Planetary Source,--"

"Wouldn't it eventually 'Run Out,'"----SURE!!--after Several Thousand Years!!

Doc

[ancient_geezer]

if Mars does have water, wouldn't it be a finite resource?

Limited & scarce certainly, but recyclible. It's not going to disappear. Any in use will certainly be recycled for habitat use, that would be the rule on mars.

One interesting possibility could become economically feasible. Divert cometary ice from the asteroid belts into uninhabited craters on occasion. That would supplement Mar's deficiencies where water is concerned if mining Mars ice proves to be insufficient or uneconomical long term. That's presuming true colonization of Mars, and not just scientific outposts.

[ambrose]

Of course, I can also see a future for Martian Bottled Water. Imagine how much a bottle of Martian water could fetch at a trendy eatery in Beverly Hills. LOL. May be a long ways off, but still...

[Consort]

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[<1/1,000,000th%]

This can mean only one thing.