Life on Mars... confirmed?

[Onkel Neal]

Maybe?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/11/20/mars_discovery_nasa_touts_curiosity_data_that_poin ts_to_historic_discovery.html

Curiosity is living up to its name. The NASA rover currently wheeling itself around Mars has apparently sent back some very interesting data from the Red Planet in the form of a soil sample that shows ... well, something. From the sounds of it, something big. But for now at least, that's all anyone is willing to say.

[Red Brow]

that seems to be bashing the camera optics with a tomahawk looking thingy.

[Oberon]

Maybe?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/11/20/mars_discovery_nasa_touts_curiosity_data_that_poin ts_to_historic_discovery.html

Oooh, as nice as that would be, I'd be surprised if scientists would come down either side of the decision. It could be that Curiousity has discovered a new metal or element.

Life would be nice though, even at a bacterial level.

[Randomizer]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Let's hope that the scientists, technicians and analysts get it right since a false positive would be a PR disaster.

Still hoping it looks like this...

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/storage/comics/marvin1.jpg

[Cybermat47]

What!?

But...nah, let Jeff Wayne do it. The chances of anything coming from Mars/Are a Million to one/He said ooooh-ooooh The chances of aaaanything com-ing from Mars/Are a Million to one/But still, they coo-oome!

[razark]

Let's hope that the scientists, technicians and analysts get it right since a false positive would be a PR disaster.
The scientists can get it perfect, but there will still be a disaster when the media sensationalizes and mis-reports what the scientists say, and the general public fails to understand what the scientists say.

[Oberon]

What!?

But...nah, let Jeff Wayne do it. The chances of anything coming from Mars/Are a Million to one/He said ooooh-ooooh The chances of aaaanything com-ing from Mars/Are a Million to one/But still, they coo-oome!

ULLA!

[Jimbuna]

http://www.antilabelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/martian_landing.jpg

[Takeda Shingen]

http://www.antilabelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/martian_landing.jpg

:haha:

Now that is too funny.

[Cybermat47]

ULLA!

:salute::yeah::salute:

[CaptainMattJ.]

The likeliest source of life we find anywhere else in the galaxy will most likely be bacteria

[Skybird]

The likeliest source of life we find anywhere else in the galaxy will most likely be bacteria

... we conclude after experience with discovery of life on one planet in a galaxy with (minimum estimation) 100 billion stars. ;)

1 solar system >partially< explored versus 100,000,000,000 (minimum) unexplored.

"Most likely" - sure you want to bet on that statement? ;) :)

[Oberon]

I would estimate, mathematically, that it would be more common than fully evolved life, but everything has to start somewhere. After all, it's a pretty darn hardy thing, and I imagine that it outnumbers us cell to person by several trillion.

Of course, from that you have lifeforms that are non carbon based, and indeed potentially lifeforms that are composed of matter that we do not yet comprehend. Heck, for all we know there could be lifeforms made of dark matter out there. Our knowledge is very narrow, but nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.

[THE_MASK]

There not actually on mars .

[August]

The likeliest source of life we find anywhere else in the galaxy will most likely be bacteria

Yeah, bacteria that we will have absolutely no natural immunity against. :oScary.

[Cybermat47]

Yeah, bacteria that we will have absolutely no natural immunity against. :oScary.

I never actually considered that...

Damn.

I don't want to be an astronaut anymore :wah:

[Jimbuna]

Yeah, bacteria that we will have absolutely no natural immunity against. :oScary.

Oh heck!

Are there any plans to bring the samples back?

[Oberon]

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/09/how-nasa-prevents-a-space-plague-outbreak/

[Jimbuna]

Wasn't aware...most interesting :cool:

[Rhodes]

Yeah, bacteria that we will have absolutely no natural immunity against. :oScary.

Maybe not. Has some cheese sci-fi film argument, life began outside our planet and came here or by meteor or by some advance ancient alien race that send organic matter to different planets and so the some mars alien bacteria DNA strain is similar to ours or vice-versa, etc!

[GoldenRivet]

perhaps we are getting a little ahead of ourselves.

the article in the OP clearly says that they have found a mineral not previously thought to have existed on mars.

this is going to be one of those stories that reveals a trace of some mineral that billions of earthlings wont care about and a room full of 12 NASA scientists will orgy over.

the only way the mineral would be remotely interesting is if it were a mineral known to be caused by biological processes.

EDIT: knowing little about this and the history of recovered minerals on mars, i would say curiosity rover has found a deposit of biologically occurring aragonite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragonite).

[razark]

the article in the OP clearly says that they have found a mineral not previously thought to have existed on mars.
Not quite.
...it appears possible, and perhaps likely, that it is a discovery of an element on Mars previously thought not to exist on the Red Planet.
The article is speculating as to what the discovery is.

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

Yeah, bacteria that we will have absolutely no natural immunity against. :oScary.That would (most likely) be just nature in progress just in similar manner as what happened when Europeans went to Americas. Some* die, some survive, life goes on.

*few billion here and there not a big deal...

[GoldenRivet]

Not quite.

The article is speculating as to what the discovery is.

perhaps i read it incorrectly, but if they are speculating they shouldnt start their sentence with "What we do know is..." sounds an awfully lot like fact and not speculation.

the should have said "One possibility is..." or something similar.

Im highly skeptical that they have found anything other than some kind of neat fools gold and that 99.98% of the global population will respond with a resounding "meh" while a dozen or so scientists pop the champagne cork and party like they just discovered an entire martian civilization

they have that habbit

you wont believe what we found on mars!!! we will reveal it in a few weeks!!!

check it out, its a neat rock!

[razark]

perhaps i read it incorrectly, but if they are speculating they shouldnt start their sentence with "What we do know is..." sounds an awfully lot like fact and not speculation.
What we do know is that the data comes from a soil sample analyzed by the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument...
They said they know what instrument it came from. But I agree, it could have been made clearer.

Im highly skeptical that they have found anything other than some kind of neat fools gold and that 99.98% of the global population will respond with a resounding "meh" while a dozen or so scientists pop the champagne cork and party like they just discovered an entire martian civilization
Most likely. But until we actually get the information, people will speculate. Many of those speculations will get some people's expectations up, and not living up to that hype will add to the "meh" response.

[Gargamel]

check it out, its a neat rock!

Whole point of the Apollo 17 mission. Selective and intelligent Geology studies of the moon.

[August]

My guess, petrified wood.

[GoldenRivet]

My guess, petrified wood.

now THAT would be flippin awesome.

[Nippelspanner]

The likeliest source of life we find anywhere else in the galaxy will most likely be bacteria

Yeah?
http://scaleofuniverse.com/

Now, say that again! :know:

[u crank]

http://scaleofuniverse.com/

Wow. There is a star, VY Canis Majoris, that's half as big as the distance between Pluto and the Sun. Hard to comprehend.

Great link Nippelspanner. :up:

[CaptainMattJ.]

Yeah?
http://scaleofuniverse.com/

Now, say that again! :know:
the likeliest being the most abundant and obviously the most probable "first contact" with an alien lifeform.

That's why i very well believe the galaxy holds life, but im willing to bet alot of money that our first contact is going to be bacterial, or rather simple lifeforms at the very least.

perhaps it was poorly worded but that is what i meant to say. the most abundant life would, most likely, be simple and basic, assuming we ever do find life (if you can grasp how large the galaxy is you might see why finding life would be one hell of a feat).

Also note i said galaxy, not universe. To travel even to the closest galaxy would take a form of technology beyond anyone's current comprehension. To put it simply, traveling across the universe, even faster than light, would take a long, long time. Unless of course we discover some mind-numbing anomaly that can burrow through space and time (wormholes), and unless we can travel safely and accurately to where we need to go.

And if we manage to find bacterial life on mars, unless all common sense goes out the window, scientists aren't going to expose anyone to the lifeform until we know exactly what it can do.

[GoldenRivet]

the discovery of currently active microbiology on Mars would probably completely change any near future plans for a mission there.

[Oberon]

http://www.geofftaylor-artist.com/system/files/imagecache/normal/illo/y1978wotwdeadlondon71.jpg

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-377

Stand down from 'red' alert folks. Still, news is news, and there's still science to be done, we've barely scratched the surface of that beautiful red ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3akp8zbGMY

[Jimbuna]

David Bowie confirmed this many years ago :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ

[August]

I'm still holding out for the petrified wood... :03:

[Cybermat47]

http://www.geofftaylor-artist.com/system/files/imagecache/normal/illo/y1978wotwdeadlondon71.jpg

I love that picture :yeah: