A thousand years we worked,
hoeing and spraying,
to get rid of those damn weeds.
First Contact, and what do they bring?
Weeds!
Damn Weeds!
Marge, bring the hoe...
we've got work to do.
Posted on 04/25/2002 7:35:56 AM PDT by dead
The first Earthling on Mars may not be a brave astronaut with the right stuff, but a weed.
NASA is considering sending a flower to the red planet to see if future human explorers could use Martian soil to grow food in greenhouses.
The idea is being pushed by Christopher McKay, a senior research scientist at NASA's Ames centre in California.
"I have taken it on as a personal quest," Dr McKay told the Herald.
If NASA approves, the flower could be on its way in 2007, aboard the first of a series of small landers called Scout.
While Dr McKay would prefer to send a red rose to the red planet, he expected the most likely candidate would be "a less fussy plant", possibly the common weed arabidopsis. Widely used in laboratory experiments, it was "the mouse of the plant world".
Scout's robot arm would scoop up some Martian soil and drop it inside a tiny greenhouse. The soil would be flushed with water to wash out toxins, including salts and oxidants.
After being pressurised with Martian air - mainly carbon dioxide - nutrients and more water would be added to the greenhouse and the seed would be dropped in.
Genetically modified before launch by adding fluorescent proteins, the plant would glow different colours if it became "stressed".
Just as people turn red when blushing, or blue if they hold their breath, "the plant could be programmed to tell us if there are too many oxidants in the soil, if it is too salty, or needs water".
The seeds would be treated to ensure they carried no bacteria that could survive on Mars.
Under the Scout program rules, the mission's cost would be capped at $US325 million ($597.5 million).
Not all Mars scientists are so keen.
"Chris comes up with all sorts of whacky ideas. He is fundamentally whacky," said a colleague, Malcolm Walter, the director of Macquarie University's Australian Centre for Astrobiology.
"We are a long way from human missions to Mars," said Professor Walter, adding it would be better to study Martian soil by sending unmanned probes to bring some back to Earth.
Mike Meyer, a NASA astrobiologist, fears Earthbound scientists, watching the plant via television, would end up saying: "Golly, it died, now what?"
But Dr McKay said the flower would be "a true biological pioneer" and a "powerful symbol of the long-term vision of life expanding beyond the Earth".
Mars to Earth: "Do you think I'm cheap? I'll expect dinner too."
...the most likely candidate would be "a less fussy plant", possibly the common weed arabidopsis.
"Arabidopsis thaliana is a common plant used for laboratory research. It is a member of the Brassicaceae, or Mustard family, along with broccoli and cauliflower. Arabidopsis is considered to be a "model" organism because it is easy to grow in the lab, it has a short life cycle and makes lots of seeds (which makes it good for genetics) and it has a small genome compared to other higher plants (like maize)."
Space broccoli. That sounds like a bad idea - carpet bombing the Martians with space broccoli.
Did someone say "space weed"?
Does federal law extend to a space colony?
Martian Pale Ale and Barsoomian Amber.
Can you imagine the entire planet Mars covered with a glowing weed that could not be stopped because it had no natural enemies there; kind of a super tumble weed :o)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.