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OT - Is there life on Mars, or on other worlds beyond Earth? Theanswer may be squishy
On Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 7:49:15 AM UTC-7, a425couple wrote:
from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/life-...062129729.html Is there life on Mars, or on other worlds beyond Earth? The answer may be squishy Alan Boyle GeekWireJune 23, 2019 NASA’s Curiosity rover took this selfie in June 2018 by capturing a series of pictures with a camera mounted on its robotic arm. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Photo) BELLEVUE, Wash. — NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected fresh whiffs of Martian methane, once again sparking speculation about a potential biological source — but researchers at the space agency say it’s too early to raise the alert for life on Mars. Scientists who are gathering here for the annual Astrobiology Science Conference, or AbSciCon, acknowledge that depending on the context, methane could be an indicator of biological activity, as it is on Earth. But it could just as well be of purely geological origin. “It’s not in itself a biosignature,” Abigail Allwood, a field geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told GeekWire today during a media workshop. The belch of methane detected last week is intriguing nevertheless — in that it’s the highest level detected during Curiosity’s nearly seven years of operation on Mars. The concentration amounted to about 21 parts per billion units by volume, or three times as strong as a detection that created a scientific hubbub back in 2013. Scientists correlated that earlier spike with measurements taken from orbit by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe, and said the best explanation was that seismic activity triggered a release from reservoirs of methane trapped beneath Mars’ surface. NASA said Curiosity’s scientists would make further observations to gather more data about the newly reported release, and compare their results with readings taken by ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter. That probe’s sensitive spectrometers should be able to sniff out methane in the Martian atmosphere, but it hasn’t recorded a single whiff in the past year. “Combining observations from the surface and from orbit could help scientists locate sources of the gas on the planet and understand how long it lasts in the Martian atmosphere,” NASA said today in a statement. “That might explain why the Trace Gas Orbiter’s and Curiosity’s methane observations have been so different.” Experts say they’re not likely to find a smoking gun — or, for that matter, a tribe of flatulent aliens — as they search for evidence of ancient or extant life on Mars. That caveat applies as well to ice-covered worlds with hidden oceans, such as the Jovian moon Europa and the Saturnian moon Enceladus. It’s more likely that the evidence for life beyond Earth will accumulate slowly, from multiple threads of inquiry. Those threads could include, say, the abundances of specific isotopes, or the lengths and complexity of organic molecules, or a preference for left-handedness or right-handedness in amino acids or sugars. Several scientists at the Bellevue meeting discussed the idea of creating a standard instrument suite that could detect life in a variety of settings, like the Star Trek tricorder that Spock carried. “Hopefully, a pentacorder of a heptacorder,” said Chris German, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Sarah Stewart Johnson, a planetary scientist at Georgetown University, said answers to questions about extraterrestrial life won’t be 100 percent yes or no, at least af first. Rather, they’ll take on more complicated statistical forms. “We’re trying to move away from this binary ‘This Is Life / This Is Not Life’ … but really change the approach into something like ‘this is 3-sigma away from what we would expect from abiotic processes,’ ” she said. Mary Voytek, who’s in charge of NASA’s Astrobiology Program, introduced a new term — “credu-probability” — to describe the significance of a biosignature. “How credible is it, and what’s the probability that it represents life?” she said. Toward that end, astrobiologists will be unveiling the latest iteration of their “Ladder of Life Detection” assessment system this week: The “Life Detection Forum” won’t be a mathematical formula like the Drake Equation, or a rating system like the Torino Scale for asteroid threats. Instead, it’ll be a Web-based platform where astrobiologists can fine-tune their approaches to the life-detection question. “The most important aspect of this is to get real, and get rigorous,” Voytek said. Such a process should help researchers put the proper perspective on findings like last week’s methane detection — and follow the scent. “That’s the next step … figure out where it’s coming from,” Allwood said. “And if you want to, go and send a mission there. See what’s producing it.” More from GeekWi That burst of Martian methane is long gone, but mystery of life on Mars remains NASA’s Curiosity rover tracks down organic molecules and methane on Mars Sweet! Scientists narrow down source of mysterious burst of methane on Mars Europe’s Trace Gas Orbiter sends its first color picture of Mars – and it’s spectacular Comments include (I've just left it raw - as cut & pasted) Tonyyesterday I have a feeling the definition of life is murky and open to much interpretation. In some ways the earth as a planet resembles a life force. As time goes on the definition of life may have to be redefined to include concepts that do not mimic life forms on earth today. ReplyReplies (9)2910 My Two Cents My Two Centsyesterday It's laughable that so many believe that there isn't life on other planets, even though the universe could possibly be infinite. Everything we know about life is based on human/earth science. For all we know there could be life forms in the cosmos that doesn't need water to survive. We humans are full or ourselves, and most would like to believe that we're the smartest species in the universe. HA! If you do believe that, have you taken a close look at society today? ReplyReplies (6)305 Tommy Tommyyesterday No proof yet. Waiting for a final answer. Not speculation. ReplyReplies (2)111 Adam Adamyesterday If I understand it right, methane can be either microbial induced through decay of plant and animal matter of be geologically produced via extreme heat at extreme depths. But doesn't there have to still be some kind of original organic matter in the process from millions of years ago buried in the planet like oil and methane here on Earth? ReplyReplies (4)73 RussianBot RussianBotyesterday I enjoyed a bean burrito on Saturday. Gotta tell ya, there was methane on Sunday!!! Woooohoooo... ReplyReplies (2)226 Ratt Ratt20 hours ago So. Just a question pertaining to the picture. So - it states "NASA’s Curiosity rover took this selfie in June 2018 by capturing a series of pictures with a camera mounted on its robotic arm"... However, there is no robotic arm sticking out from the rover? How is that possible? Is the camera just floating in mid air? IF the camera was mounted to a robotic arm - you would see that arm coming from the rover similar to how you often see people holding a selfie stick... ReplyReplies (2)21 WellBredWomanizer WellBredWomanizeryesterday If the reparations thing goes through, don't expect the US to be going to Mars anytime soon ReplyReplies (11)3014 Andy Rock Skipper Andy Rock Skipperyesterday I took this picture of Curiosity, and I also do weddings and parties. Call me. Reply259 Think Thinkyesterday We left Mars many years ago when the planet became too cold to inhabit. ReplyReplies (7)3029 Mark Markyesterday Is there life on Mars, or on other worlds beyond Earth? The answer is NO. Phil Tyesterday Keep funding science, please. ReplyReplies (3)3912 WhoMe WhoMe19 hours ago IMHO:- There are billions of stars and planets in the Universe. Logic would dictate that if life evolved here then it's highly likely to have developed elsewhere. It's more than a little egotistical to think we're the only sentient life in the cosmos. Reply3 Michael Michaelyesterday The real questing is, "Is there sentient life on earth?". The evidence supports that whales, dolphins, and of course cats are sentient. #$%$ Sapiens not so much. Reply83 Andrew Andrewyesterday Two trillion plus galaxies in the observable universe, each with millions or billions of stars, and billions or trillions of planets. Yes, there is other life out there. ReplyReplies (6)65 thomas thomas19 hours ago The universe is so big that there could be millions of planets with life on them per galaxy and we still wouldn't be able to meet up with any of them. Unless we can find some sort of wormhole technology, traveling further than surrounding couple of stars would be literally impossible. Nevermind across the galaxy or into other galaxies. Reply2 old1 old1yesterday There are billions of planets with life on them! We're nothing special! WE just have to become GREAT AGAIN! Our slaves have taken over "OUR" Planet! Or, they're trying to! ReplyReplies (2)3 snake snake15 hours ago there most definitely is life out there on other world but most of it may only be bacteria, plant life, and maybe some primitive animals. But advanced intelligent lifeforms maybe few and far between separated by the vastness of space. It may not be possible for humans to travel more than a few light years in the next 50 or so years unless there is a technological breakthrough that will allow us to travel many times faster than the speed of light. Not long ago, people thought the sound barrier was impossible to break and that it would be impossible to travel to the moon and back. Mankind has only done a very small amount of what we are capable of doing. What the future holds of us is impossible to image. More Reply1 ldo ldo23 hours ago There are BILLIONS of planets out there which could support life. OF COURSE there is life on other planets. ReplyReplies (1)2 The Doc The Doc21 hours ago NASA and other space agencies have acted (colluded together) to cover-up (through silence and obfuscation, and direct lying) what is really on the Moon and Mars: complex biological fossils and some remaining life, including threatening creatures. Author Tim Cohen will reveal many officially-sourced photos of these in his upcoming Solar Apocalypse series of books. But, you may see a few on Mars NOW. Just go to Author Tim Cohen's YouTube channel. (See the final twenty-five minutes of the longer video, watching that one all the way to the end, as well as the full half-hour video. These were posted in September last year when Cohen began to go public for the first time.) These are on YouTube: go to YouTube and enter "/watch?v=8ROWhPrRB_Y" at the end of the URL and then do the same again, and enter "/watch?v=U3KA2MF8K2E&t=3900s" at the end of the URL. More ReplyReplies (4)24 L Lyesterday If there is life on Mars,even primitive bacterial like, we need to be very careful. The risk of contamination from a microbe that we don't understand, what it could do to our ecosystem is potentially catastrophic. If we do send a manned mission to Mars, the understanding should be that it may be necessary that they plan to stay there permanently until we can safely assure that contamination of Earth life with Mars life is not a concern. ReplyReplies (1)41 CommonSenseyesterday So spending 1 Trillion while we already pay $3500 from every worker Just to pay the Interest on the National debt, to perhpas learn that life once existed, or that it can again in 1 billion years...makes sense? ReplyReplies (11)1422 Kevin Kevinyesterday man has not progressed one bit since he found fire all else pales into nothing. The car is 200 years old the television 100 so what is new as lies dont help? No moon journey landed on moon. Silver paper suits and the Van Allen belts makes a laughing stock out of Yanks who just had to beat the Russians in space race. Gargarin told us the truth man had not the power to left out of earths pull. Year later man was on his way to the moon but hit same problem that shape of rockets are not what will carry mankind out of earths tradjectury need centrefugal force and like a spinning top to build power to be able to break through and fast enough not to melt in the two main Van Allen belts . More ReplyReplies (9)221 Your Daddy Your Daddyyesterday We all know that the moon is part of Mars. Thanks President Trump ReplyReplies (2)1624 brianne brianneyesterday ...I believe NASA has many photographs of man-made structures and possibly flying craft taken on Mars but will not release it to the public...due to the Majestic 13 rule book created back in the 1940's figuring it would end our society as we know it.....looking at the drugs, killings and abortions in our LBGTQUIST society now maybe ending out wouldn't be such a bad idea... ReplyReplies (8)1124 Anonymous Anonymousyesterday HOAX OF THE CENTURY: Could NASA Mars rovers really be filming here on Earth? A UFO hunter famed for finding "evidence of alien life" in NASA images taken on Mars believes the pictures may have actually been taken on Earth.. Scott C Waring, editor of ufosightingsdaily.com, has highlighted several NASA images taken by its rovers on the Red Planet, in which he claims there is evidence of an array of creatures, including a groundhog, bear, seal, monkey, mouse, crabs and scorpions. But he has admitted on his website, he may have been persuaded by a growing conspiracy theory that NASA has not actually sent any rovers to Mars. The so-called Mars "truthers" claim NASA is actually filming all its alleged Martian footage from Devon Island in Canada. A large uninhabited island, NASA has previously admitted the scene “resembles the Mars surface in more ways than any other place on Earth”. Mr Waring posed the question in a blog on his website entitled "Could NASA Successfully Fake The Rover On Mars?" He wrote: "Many readers have suggested that the Mars Curiosity rover is not in space on Mars, but actually on Devon Island in Southern Canada. "I have to admit that we have seen a lot of evidence that intelligent life was in those Mars photos, but in truth, I see that there is so much in most of those photos that it couldn't possibly be a place on Earth. How could such unusual artefacts exist on Earth and were never discovered by anyone?" But he conceded that "evidence that the Mars rover is not on Mars at all is growing." He said: "In the colour photos, 90 percent of time NASA puts it into false colour, with a red filter to make the photo look like a red planet. "This may be a psychological trick to convince the public it really is Mars. He pointed to the recent attempt by the European Space Agency to land a rover on Mars, which was dashed when it exploded on impact. He added: "Every time other countries send a rover or satellite to Mars, it is either destroyed in Earth's orbit, on landing, or a few minutes after landing. "Did America sabotage those Russian missions to keep a secret? "The real colour of the sky is blue in original colour NASA photos and there were white clouds! "That should not be possible on Mars...and yet, it's in NASA photos. "We found animals, a hairy monkey, squirrel, lizard, rat, rabbit, bison and two gorillas. Its a freaking zoo on Mars if its really there." Devon Island is used by NASA to test rovers before they are finished and sent into space. But, the conspiracy theorists think they never leave the ground. Mr Waring added: "If you look at Devon Island on Google Earth, you see two HD photos of NASA scientists in suits and driving the Mars rover. "Evidence that they are using Devon to record Mars raw footage? “HMP researchers test technology prototypes, such as K-10, a robot designed to assist humans before, during, and after human exploration missions. “Because the environment is harsh, isolated, and poorly mapped, it provides an analog for testing planetary exploration strategies, such as safety and telemedicine.” Professor Lewis Dartnell, an astrobiology at the University of Westminster, who designed laser eyes for the ESA's own Mars rover, said: "NASA’s Mars rover programme is real, and Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are all on the surface of Mars. "The radio signals beamed back to Earth from Opportunity and Curiosity are picked up by an international system of radio dishes called the Deep Space Network — so if this was a conspiracy then many different nations would need to be involved, and not just the USA. "Also, satellites like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can clearly see the rovers on the surface of Mars, and the tracks left by their wheels tracing out across the Martian landscape. "Any planetary scientist around the world can request images of particular regions on Mars from these orbital probes." More ReplyReplies (2)29 MarkC MarkC21 hours ago I believe in the possibility of undetectable and non biological based life, which is a big game changer for planning return to earth missions. Reply1 thomas thomas19 hours ago I don't even think whether life exists elsewhere is a question. The universe is so mind bendingly big that the possibility of Earth being the only planet with life is almost 0. The real question is whether any of the other life is anywhere relatively close to us for us to see. Seriously, even if there is only 1 planet with life per galaxy that would still be billions of planets. Reply1 Penny Pan Penny Panyesterday Is there life in Washington D.C.? Nope. Reply3 Patriot Patriot19 hours ago Where's the "robotic arm" that took the picture? Maybe a Martian snapped it? More than likely a human on Devon Island took it. c c c c13 hours ago Doesn't matter if Mars once hosted life. It never will again since it lost it's magnetic field and it's atmosphere was ripped away exposing the surface to all of space's radiation. And even if we could find a pocket of bacteria under an ice cap, so what, the rest of the planet is dead and will remain so. Same thing if Earth's magnetic field failed and our atmosphere was carried away by the solar winds. There would be all our monuments and buildings showing life once thrived, but it would be a dead planet to any visitors. Reply1 Den Zen Den Zenyesterday Some scientists want so desperately to find life on Mars and I think that's great, but I'm afraid they might try to stretch the truth in doing so by diluting the scientific process. Reply44 Clowns2theleft-Jokers2theRight Clowns2theleft-Jokers2theRight2 hours ago Just watching "Life on Mars" on Alibi and it's clear to me that it's no different to what was going on here on Earth in 1973. Reply1 carol carol1 hour ago EARTH is the EXCLUSIVE location for life in the Universe. If life is found anywhere else in the Universe , it will have come from EARTH ! Reply1 B B7 hours ago we're so weird, we live on a tiny crumb of dust floating around in a sea of galaxies that end so far away that its mind boggling in terms of space and time, yet we believe in myths of gods when we've never met nor seen one other than ourselves. and we actually search in the depths of space in hopes to find life? to boot we then elevate ourselves as some kind of leader in intelligence to the degree that we become the model in which life to look for. and as peculiar as space is around us in all directions with unreachable ends. explain the difference in instinctive defense between the human animal or the ants in colonies that will attach anything that threatens the colony, prized queen. you can't tell me what mechanism or electrical impulses that drive the ants to display similar survival techniques as the upright walking ones, that fear even one ant crawling on them, but to think we're not looking at pure life everywhere around us, including space, would be kind of odd, based on the mathematical course that we and space abide by, and with that being said as common as a law performs exact duplicates there's the life question remains about other planets being inhabited by other life like us and there's a good chance we are the only ones like us in the entire universe. at least the one we're stuck in. More Reply rickt ricktyesterday Robinson Crusoe on Mars or CaPT. kIRK IN SEARCH FOR Spock! Reply1 Paul Glock Paul Glockyesterday Why do people still ask that question? The possibility that life doesn't exist elsewhere is a big fat Zero. ReplyReplies (1)13 Glenn Glenn12 hours ago Methane is on every planet. Other than that, with the cost of the green new deal, forgiving all college loans, reparations, and bullet trains to nowhere, they'll be just enough money left to feed a small goldfish for less than a week. So stop dreaming about opening amusement parks on Mars ) : Reply1 Robert Robert18 hours ago Because our government has removed G O D from everything they would NEVER say that if G O D has put life on other planets he might want to start another group of people who BELIEVE IN GOD. But is there live on other planets or are we on Earth living in the Star Treck generation. Reply2 BB BByesterday If any sign of life is found on Mars, it came from Earth. Everyone should read the excellent book "Lights In The Sky & Little Green Men" by Ross, Samples & Clark. Reply nburton.com nburton.com18 hours ago The recent government revelation that U.F.O.'s are traveling unimpeded through Earth's skies, and oceans is going to change our perspective of our existence. Any speculation about the Mars lights is purely speculation. I myself have encountered, interacted with an alien spaceship in 2010, and published a website along with a police polygraph on the website, nburton.com. Reply2 Sagan went with yes I go with ????? bert |
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