Replies

Actually, given that there is still water trapped underneath the surface of the Martian soil, I think chances are good that low-level microbes--though at most up to bacteria level--are still living off the subsurface water and nutrients in the soil. This is based on the discovery of low-level life forms in places on Earth that technically should not support life, such as near deep-sea vents, in the polar regions, and deep underground.

This will push forward the inclusion of very sophisticated bioscience experiments on the Mars Science Laboratory lander that will arrive on Mars in 2009. MSL, unlike the current Mars Exploration Rovers, will be powered by a "nuclear" battery that will allow MSL to run for up to two years after landing. That means MSL could travel well over 200 kilometers (124 miles) during its operational lifetime looking for lifeforms beneath the Martian surface.

I predict that eventually we will discover the existence of large "mats" of living microogranisms in the upper few meters of regolith across the Martian surface. I further predict that these microrganisms will be found to be Earth-native life forms (algae and bacteria) which were brought to Mars from Earth inside rocky debris kicked into space by meteor and comet impacts upon our planet. This subsurface life will eventually explain the "canals" and large, greenish areas that observers have seen on Mars over the centuries.

Finally, I predict that similar locally-adapted Earth organisms will be discovered on Titan and within the Galilean moons. In time, it will become obvious that all life in the solar system originated on Earth.

The Garden of Eden isn't on Earth. Earth is the Garden of Eden. The creation story in Genesis is true; we simply haven't allowed ourselves to imagine what the ancient sages who wrote it were really trying to say. God showed Moses and the Prophets the literal Truth of how all things began -- but since they didn't know what planets, stars, and comets were back then, the writers of Genesis put the Truth in terms of clay, ribs, gardens, and days of the week -- things their readers would understand.

But behind that beautiful Bronze Age poetry lies the literal Truth, still there, still waiting for us to figure it out. And figure it out we will.

I AM not that inform but could this be related

Blast kills researcher at ATK Thiokol lab
BRIGHAM CITY - Firefighters responding to an explosion in an ATK Thiokol research laboratory pulled a badly injured woman from the wrecked and burning building but could not save her co-worker, who perished in the blaze.
Steve Watters was the first Thiokol employee to die in an on-the-job accident since 1987, when nearly 100,000 pounds of rocket propellant ignited, killing five men.
No propellant was being used or stored in the building involved in Monday night's blast, on the north end of the 20,000-acre facility, about 25 miles northwest of Brigham City.
http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?article=2569853

Dr. Carol Stoker wrote:

A story has appeared in Space.com which quotes us
inaccurately and without permission. The story is based on hearsay
and is factually incorrect.

Here are the facts:

1. On Sunday night we were attending a private party
of space exploration enthusiasts in which there was a
discussion about the possible meaning of the results
from recent Mars missions. We engaged in the
discussion and expressed thoughts and opinions as
individual scientists on our own time and did not
represent ourselves as speaking for NASA.

2. No one at the party identified themselves as a
reporter, and in fact no reporters were present. This
article is based on hearsay about what somebody at the
party thought they heard us say. We think this
represents extremely poor journalistic standards.

3. No Nature paper has been submitted with Rio Tinto
results. This claim is simply wrong and we did not
make this claim. The MARTE project has several papers
in preparation that describe the work we are doing at
Rio Tinto and the first results of that work, but
nothing has been submitted yet. Preliminary results
have been published in abstract form at various
scientific meetings. If you want to see what the MARTE
team has actually said about results from Rio Tinto
drilling and its relevance to life on Mars, go to
www.marteproject.com and click on publications. All
our REAL publications are posted there.

4. The work at Rio Tinto is relevant to finding life
in a subsurface terrestrial environment and can't be
used to infer anything about life on Mars, directly.
The Rio Tinto work by its very nature can't tell us if
there is life on Mars, but certainly helps formulate
the strategy for how to search for life on Mars. One
approach to searching for extant life on Mars is by
drilling. Partly for this reason, the MARTE project
was selected for funding by NASA's ASTEP program, out
of the Science Mission Directorate and is a joint
project between NASA and Spain's Center for
Astrobiology.

Note -- this topic is from February 2005.

alpha list, life-on-Mars topics on FR (not including the many water-on-Mars topics):

After 10 years, few believe life on Mars
AP on Yahoo | 8/5/06 | Matt Crenson - ap
Posted on 08/05/2006 8:08:08 PM EDT by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1678492/posts

Birthplace of famous Mars meteorite pinpointed
New Scientist | 9/16/05 | David L Chandler
Posted on 09/16/2005 12:44:14 PM EDT by LibWhacker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485827/posts

Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars
Space News | February 16, 2005 | Brian Berger
Posted on 02/16/2005 4:57:19 PM EST by mrobison
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344685/posts

'Four-billion-year chill' on Mars
BBC | 7/21/05 | David Whitehouse
Posted on 07/21/2005 4:57:09 PM EDT by LibWhacker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1447845/posts

If there were life on Mars wouldn't it pass gas?
Waterbury Republican-American | April 30, 2005 | AP Wire
Posted on 04/30/2005 9:34:08 PM EDT by Graybeard58
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1394490/posts

Mars Life in Embalming Fluid?
CreationSafari.com | 03/01/05 | Creation Evolution Headlines
Posted on 03/03/2005 1:14:39 PM EST by DannyTN
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1355183/posts

Methane on Mars: the plot thickens
New Scientist | 8/02/05 | Maggie McKee
Posted on 08/02/2005 3:00:01 PM EDT by LibWhacker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455509/posts

NASA Researches Claim Evidenc of Present Life on Mars
Space News | Feb. 16, 2005 | Brian Berger
Posted on 02/16/2005 2:35:13 PM EST by PresbyRev
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344592/posts

NASA Scientist: 'Mars Could be Biologically Alive' (Methane Confirmed)
SPACE.com | April 19, 2005 | Leonard David
Posted on 04/19/2005 4:37:37 PM EDT by AntiGuv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386889/posts

NASA Statement on False Claim of Evidence of Life on Mars
NASA Press Release | Friday, February 18, 2005 | NASA
Posted on 02/21/2005 1:42:31 PM EST by DaveLoneRanger
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1347976/posts

Report: Mars Cold, Bitter Planet for a Long, Long Time
space.com | 07/21/05 | Robert Roy Britt
Posted on 07/21/2005 10:09:04 PM EDT by KevinDavis
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1448047/posts

Rovers Find Evidence Mars Was Once Hostile
AP on Yahoo | 12/5/05 | Alicia Chang - ap
Posted on 12/05/2005 8:59:30 PM EST by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1534629/posts

Russian space general searches for life on Mars
AFP on Yahoo | 8/19/06 | Dario Thuburn
Posted on 08/20/2006 2:59:11 AM EDT by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1686760/posts

Scientist argues case for life on Mars
Australian Broadcasting Company | Thursday, 24 February 2005 | Anna Salleh
Posted on 02/24/2005 6:20:15 PM EST by Yo-Yo
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1350487/posts

Some scientists think humans descended from Martian microbes
Palm Beach Post | Monday, April 03, 2006 | Stacey Singer
Posted on 04/04/2006 9:13:57 AM EDT by planetesimal
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1608860/posts

Studies Cast Doubt on Idea of Life on Mars
Yahoo (AP) | Thu Dec 22, 8:37 AM ET | ALICIA CHANG
Posted on 12/22/2005 1:46:33 PM EST by The_Victor
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1545513/posts

Ten Years Later, 'Life' in Martian Meteorite Still Not Verified
Fox News | Sunday, August 06, 2006
Posted on 08/08/2006 11:48:31 AM EDT by Sopater
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1679891/posts

Tiny Tunnels in Mars Rock Hint at Possibility of Life
SPACE.com | March 23, 2006 | Leonard David
Posted on 03/23/2006 10:04:44 PM EST by AntiGuv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1602092/posts