The Ethics of Terraforming

If life is discovered on Mars, and I mean actual living bacteria, not just
fossils, will the discovery affect the way we proceed with colonization or
terraforming of the planet? I mean, if Mars is alive and we start bringing
terrestrial plants and various other organisms, wont it be just like
bringing dogs and rabbits to Australia or Kudzu to the US?



In my opinion, it is the same, but I think we should do it anyway. It seems
clear that life will never go beyond the microscopic stage on Mars. Mars is
basically a dead-end as far as life is concerned. So I think that if we
can, we should make whatever use of it benefits humanity. I just think
there are others who will not agree. I think that if some of the upcoming
Martian probes find life there will be a vocal minority who will argue that
we should never send people there (and maybe no more probes) because of the
risk of infecting the existing ecosystem.