Mars' surface is sterile!

[Serendipity]

They've discovered that the surface of Mars is sterile - no hope of finding micro-organisms there! Might be different a two or three metres down!

See Mars covered in toxic chemicals that can wipe out living organisms, tests reveal

 

[J Riff]

Correct, one reason to not send any organic crap up there. If humans want to colonize, they too should be sterilized. Wots the word - anaerobic? Doesn't mean there aren't giant caves full of ETs living there, they just don't do dangerous microorganisms.

 

[Brian G Turner]

UV rays broke down the perchlorate into other chemicals, namely hypochlorite and chlorite, and it is these that appear to be so destructive to the bacteria.

Wowsers - so the surface of Mars is basically a mix of rust and bleach!

The findings mean that damp streaks on the Martian surface that have been spotted from orbit may not be prime spots to find alien microbes. The briny patches would be likely to concentrate perchlorates, making the streaks even more toxic than the surrounding soil.

It's good to see a study that is more level-headed toward the prospects of finding life on Mars than some we've seen over the past couple of decades.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Is this news!

Thought that the chemical inhospitality of the Martian surface had been known for decades. Hence the long discussions for probes that are being designed to dig below the surface. That's my many years of subscription to New Scientist working then.

Reading the article it is someone testing and finding that earth-borne bacteria has a snowballs chance in hell of surviving at all on the Martian surface. Which is excellent news that we probably haven't contaminated the planet.

But they just used common bacteria it seems. No talk of the possibility of extremophile forms - they can survive some pretty awful situations on Earth - if there has been bacteria slowly evolving beneath the surface on Mars for billions of years, perhaps there are some that can survive close to the surface by adapting to these conditions? I'd guess we don't have any Terran extremophiles that can exist in the conditions as stated - especially as we've have oxygen for the past 3.5 billion years or so in the atmosphere so UV radiation on Earth has been not as big a driving factor in evolving life.

Can't wait to see the next mission that actually gets it's probes dirty and digs down!

 

[J Riff]

Well it was buzzing up there around 1978, imagine it would be polluted by now from all the Rovers and space dust, dork matter and space fleas, they found a beer can in a crater, its being covered up all along.

 

[Alexa]

They are long time past researching for any life proof on Mars. Those who still finance Mars missions are after any valuable ressources. And I really believe this time they will be able to send astronauts-workers on the Red Planet, maybe in shifts of 6 months missions. Total Recall movie will be our future reality.

 

[Venusian Broon]

They are long time past researching for any life proof on Mars. Those who still finance Mars missions are after any valuable ressources. And I really believe this time they will be able to send astronauts-workers on the Red Planet, maybe in shifts of 6 months missions. Total Recall movie will be our future reality.

Sorry, don't buy that!

Earth is bigger, richer in resources and a helluva lot cheaper to extract resources from. There might be a case if Mars was particularly rich in certain materials that Earth was poor in (also see people trying to find asteroids of solid platinum or gold - possible, but we haven't seen any so far) But as far as I am aware Mars is not that special with regards to any resources.

Any business people trying to prospect materials from Mars (or asteroids) needs to hit a spectacularly rich deposit of something (unobtanium??? ) to make it economic sense.

However, it is the planet with resources and circumstances that are closest to Earths and the planet 'most able' to be terraformed. If you are trying to set up a civilisation on the planet you will of course be trying to use the planet's stuff rather than export it from Earth.

 

[Alexa]

Mars is only a closed possibility for exploration. Others will follow. Those who make this kind of investements look far away in the future (more than 25 years) and who knows if we will still have a planet if another war strikes because of North Korea, for example.

And what's the point of US to have a new branch of the military dedicated solely to space ? I don't buy that China and Russia threats. History teach us there is always money involved.

It would be housed under the Department of the Air Force, similar to how the Marine Corps falls under the Department of the Navy.

The corps would have its own budget and its own chief of staff, who would join the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Its duties, as described by the NDAA, would be “protecting the interests of the United States in space; deterring aggression in, from, and through space; providing combat-ready space forces that enable the commanders of the combatant commands to fight and win wars; organizing, training, and equipping space forces; and conducting space operations of the Space Corps under the command of the Commander of the United States Space Command.”

Under the bill, the service would have to be up and running by January 1, 2019.

Government debates need for military Space Corps