Life on Mars could be found within two years but world is 'not prepared', Nasa's chief scientist say

[brooklynite]

The Independent

Nasa is close to finding life on Mars but the world is not ready for the “revolutionary” implications of the discovery, the space agency’s chief scientist has said.

Dr Jim Green has warned that two rovers from Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA) could find evidence of life within months of arriving on Mars in March 2021.

The ExoMars Rover, which has been dubbed “Rosalind” in memory of British chemist Rosalind Franklin, will search for extra-terrestrial life by drilling 6.5 feet down into Mars’ core to take samples.

Those samples will then be crushed up and examined for organic matter in a mobile laboratory.

Dr Green compared the potential discovery to when the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus stated that the Earth revolves around the Sun in the 16th century.

[USALiberal]

1. Religion will have some reason God put life there! Nt

[PufPuf23]

30. The Earth and Mars are flat on the same plane.

What is the big surprise?

[MineralMan]

2. Who's not prepared for it?

I am. I expect it. Life will emerge where conditions are right for it to emerge.

[Sneederbunk]

3. Find it first then we can talk.

[struggle4progress]

19. +!

[ismnotwasm]

4. I read something to the effect that the universe is so huge

The discovery of a single other life form, some sort of bacterium say, would change the percentages of possibility of life to expect it all over the place.

[c-rational]

5. Yes we are!

[cbdo2007]

6. Molecules of life in dust is different than if they found a visible fossil or bug.

The first is no big deal and we all assume it is probably there. The second would be a game changer, but still not something the world is "not prepared" for as I still think the assumption is that organic matter is probably not all that rare.

[keithbvadu2]

7. Uh! Oh! Better start building a wall.

Uh! Oh! Better start building a wall.

[jimlup]

8. Except Mars is likely sterile as the moon ...

That's my hunch anyway. I hope that I am wrong. I've been wrong about such Scientific Hypothesis before. Hopefully, we will find out.

[Kentonio]

29. It used to have an atmosphere.

[jimlup]

32. Actually it still does

and it used to have water and even has some still. While necessary for life neither is sufficient.

[Kentonio]

40. To be fair, we don't really know what is necessary for life yet.

We’re only familiar with earth born life, and even then there have been some hugely surprising discoveries of creatures existing in places thought completely inimical to life.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how non-earth lifeforms have developed. I just hope the first ones are discovered in my lifetime.

[jimlup]

43. I'll stand by my prediction that we won't learn about this in our lifetimes...

I hope that I am wrong.

Even if we find evidence of ancient Martian life - it could be related to us. It may be that we are Martians through panspermia.

[Vogon_Glory]

9. I Think Humans Can Handle The Idea Of Extraterrestrial Life

There are already theories around that there were other places favorable to life here and there around the solar system and that it seems possible for microbes to “hitch rides” on meteors blasted off planetary surfaces that could eventually transit from one planet to another planet or moon.

[dalton99a]

10. Another place for Jesus to visit and save from eternal damnation.

[brooklynite]

12. That is, is essence, the religious dilemma...

If life is found elsewhere, is it "fallen"? If so has it received the "good news" and received "substitutionary atonement"? If not, does that imply that it's a "higher" form of life than man?

Needless to say, if the only life is microbial or low-level, it puts a crimp in the argument for young earth creationism.

[Falcata]

14. Or maybe Allah

then he can put the females in beekeeper suits

[maxsolomon]

11. Mar's "core" is only 78" below the surface?

yeah, no. that's not the right term. maybe "soil"? or "rock"?

[Disaffected]

13. Mars is

much smaller than is normally believed.

[DemocraticSocialist8]

15. The fact that NASA is even putting this out there lets you know they already know it's there

and they've probably already discovered it and haven't made the news public yet because of the political and religious ramifications. At the very least, they think the probability is very high and almost 100% likely if they haven't discovered it yet.

The idea that Earth is the only planet in the entire universe that has life has quickly become unrealistic. The straw that broke the camels back was when NASA started coming out years ago talking about the large number of Earth-like exoplanets in the "goldilocks zone" of nearby stars. They're saying there are millions of planets like this in the Milky Way alone. To think Earth is somehow unique is actually somewhat backward now IMHO. The laws of probability alone say the chances of that being true are slim.

[Crunchy Frog]

25. God I hope that's the case!

Maybe it would give humanity a little dose of humility.

[Baitball Blogger]

35. +1

[Javaman]

16. we are more "prepared" than you realize....

this kind of statement makes me ill.

it's the same kind of statement as this, "the nation won't survive this".

we will be just fine, it's the political and religious zealots that will have a meltdown, the rest of us with be excited and then go on with our daily lives.

[IndyOp]

17. What? I am way more prepared for this than the "Ancient Alien Astronaut Theorists". (nt)

[PufPuf23]

31. Was tempted to post "but but Ancent Aliens" upthread.

[TidalWave46]

18. Foolish opinion. Stick to science. NT

[JHB]

20. ...cause nobody's ever contemplated the existence of aliens before

[912gdm]

21. is that Bea Arthur from the holiday special?

[JHB]

22. Yep.

[eShirl]

26. sure, NASA is lying but this seems more logical?

I'll stick with Occam's razor

[lunatica]

24. Oh please!

What an idiotic thing to say.

Those who aren’t “prepared” will just say it’s a conspiracy perpetrated by scientists who are also spreading lies around climate change and that the earth is a sphere.

[canetoad]

27. I can grok that. nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. Really?

This is the bullshit excuse given for why our government is supposedly covering up the Roswell crash. Personally, I'm not at all convinced aliens were recovered, but the idea that people could not deal with the reality of intelligent life from elsewhere is total nonsense.

And I don't give a flying fuck if religions have a problem with this. Too bad.

Again, I'm not convinced that aliens have visited this planet, but I am more than willing to believe that life in some form may well exist on other planets within our solar system.

Get over it.

[tavernier]

33. Nanu Nanu

Brushing up on interplanetary communication.

[honest.abe]

34. Most of the world probably wont even care.

Most likely the life that will be found will be some sort of micro-organism that is able to live in extremely harsh conditions. That would be incredible to educated people interested in science and knowledge and biology. The rest of world will go "huh.. where are the little green men?".

[Falcata]

36. There is intelligent life on other planets

the universe is too vast for this not to have happened. Many times over for that matter. Have they visited us? I highly doubt that, I view that as highly unlikely, that's just humans misplaced imagination that of course we're somehow important in the grand scheme of things. We aren't...

[Vogon_Glory]

37. I suspect that there are intelligent life-forms on other worlds

But they seem to be at least hundreds of light-years away and that they have the good fortune and good sense to leave humanity alone.

If there is life on Mars, I suspect that it’s microbial at best.

If there’s life elsewhere in this solar system, I suspect that it’s deep under the ice that covers the dark, chilly oceans that cover certain moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

[edhopper]

39. And intelligence doesn't mean technology

imagine highly evolved whales. They could be very smart, but no need to develop technology, let alone be space faring.

[Buns_of_Fire]

38. Oh, heck, we've known that for years. As a matter of fact,

the first image from the rover's camera is now being analyzed:

[roamer65]

41. Microbial life on Mars could be Earth-based.

Ejecta from asteroid/comet impacts on Earth could have seeded Mars.

The late Cretaceous event pops to mind.