So imagine the excitement when not only does your baby survive an almost impossible journey, not only does she land right on target (keep in mind 'on target' for a planet is within a few thousand miles of your goal) but you get an image back from her that maybe she not only landed near some ice, but right on top! From a tiny speck of possibility, you can vaguely make out a small dot of potential ice from the image above. Then, a day or two later, you move the camera slightly to the left and get another image!...
This hasn't been 100% confirmed to be real water ice just yet but, wow, talk about hitting the bullseye. The Phoenix Lander only has 90 days before winter rolls over and buries it under frozen carbon dioxide, ending the mission and the Lander's life span. The lander will be digging in and scooping out samples in the next few weeks. Those samples will enter a series of scorching hot chambers, giving us a better idea of what the area is made of. The sensors in the chambers may pick up remnants of current or past organic matter. If they do, our place in the universe changes forever. Well, at least we'll finally have proof, I should say. It doesn't mean there ever existed a real life Marvin the Martian or The Martian Manhunter, though that would be cool. Even knowing the tiniest and lowest forms of life ever existed will change everything and help us enter a new world of scientific accomplishment.
6 comments:
my only problem with scientists looking for water, etc. is that the probability of other lifeforms being "built" the same way earth creatures are (carbon based) is very small. life could exist in so many different ways, not everyone is your classic Star Trek rubebr suit alien. so while starting off looking for more things like us is a good idea scientists and other alien life peoples should remember so look for other signs other than water etc while proving that we are not alone.
You'll have to name something living on Earth that didn't stem from H2O existing in it's system to convince me of that, Coop.
There's no simpler equation than 'water = life' and we're certainly not going to find anything in our solar system other than your basic microbes. Aside from the fantasy hopes that Saturn's moon "Titan" has a rich ocean beneath it's crust that could hold more complex life forms.
there is nothing on earth that i can think of. i'm just saying that life evolves differently in different places and adapts to live there. i just wanted to say that we have a relativity small definition of life as the only life we know if earth-based. so i'm not saying that looking for water is pointless, i just wanted to remind everyone looking for more life in the universe that i may not be H2O based as we are.
As for finding life in our solar system beyond microbes, i don't think that will happen. but theres a whole universe out there life has to exist somewhere.
Life is most certainly out there but the chance of finding out about it's existence is limited by our technology. The leaps and bounds literally made in the last 5 years are making it's discovery a reality within our lifetime, which is pretty damn exciting.
And you're right, we only know of life as we've found here on Earth, which is why it's the only form we know how to look for. It depends on alot of definitions as well, once we discover 'life', what classifies? The Earth itself is technically a living, breathing being but to this day is not classified as 'alive'. Click here for a neat article about that hypothesis.
what will the creationist think the entire republican party will be destated
Naw, they'll just work it into creationism somehow. That's what always happens.
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