Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by on Thursday April 09 2015, @07:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the as-far-away-as-flying-cars dept.

They are not expecting large-headed, lanky humanoids with oval-shaped black eyes hiding behind a crater on mars; instead they fully expect to find microbial life very soon for a number of reasons. Mainly, we finally are starting to "know where to look, we know how to look, and in most cases we have the technology."

From the article:

[Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA] also described another recent study that used measurements of aurora on Jupiter's moon Ganymede to prove it has a large liquid ocean beneath its icy crust. The findings suggest that previous ideas about where to find "habitable zones" may have been too limited. "We now recognize that habitable zones are not just around stars, they can be around giant planets too," Green said. "We are finding out the solar system is really a soggy place." He also talked NASA's plans for a mission to Europa, another moon of Jupiter with an icy ocean. "I don't know what we are going to find there," he said.

NASA associate administrator John Grunsfeld, said part of what excites him most about the search for life beyond our planet is to see what that life looks like. "Once we get beyond Mars, which formed from the same stuff as Earth, the likelihood that life is similar to what we find on this planet is very low," he said.Grunsfeld said he believes that life beyond Earth will be found by the next generation of scientists and space explorers, but Green said he hopes it is sooner than that.

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by morgauxo on Thursday April 09 2015, @01:28PM

    by morgauxo (2082) on Thursday April 09 2015, @01:28PM (#168311)

    Maybe NASA will manage to send something to an icy moon within 20 years. They aren't going to get anything that can drill down to the moon's ocean in that time period and obviously that's where the life would be. Maybe they will see some sort of evidence of the life below at the surface but I am skeptical about that. The geological time it probably takes for unfortunate microbes which get frozen into the ice cap to work there way up to the surface followed by exposure to space, radiation, etc once it gets there... I doubt there is much to find at the surface.

    Will they find fossils on Mars in 10 to 20 years? That's what, 2 or 3 robot missions from now? The last several robot missions haven't even been designed to find life, extant or fossilized. They have just been looking for signs of water. It's awesome that we know for sure that Mars once was wet now. But... every time NASA finds another piece of evidence for this.. the press releases go out as though it were a novel discovery all over again! I don't think the Mars team will have changed gears quickly enough to be actually looking for life yet 20 years from now.

    And then there is extra-solar life. They are doing pretty good at finding extra-solar planets. I am willing to believe that there might be a telescope capable of performing some level of analysis on alien atmospheres in 20 years. Maybe it will even find signs of life. But will that be enough to anounce a definitive discovery? I don't think so.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 2) by melikamp on Thursday April 09 2015, @02:29PM

    by melikamp (1886) on Thursday April 09 2015, @02:29PM (#168345) Journal
    They could nuke the ice crust. I also remember people were talking about melting through it with a radioactive heat source.
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Translation Error on Thursday April 09 2015, @03:10PM

      by Translation Error (718) on Thursday April 09 2015, @03:10PM (#168362)
      "We come in peace!" *BOOM*
    • (Score: 2) by Zinho on Thursday April 09 2015, @10:04PM

      by Zinho (759) on Thursday April 09 2015, @10:04PM (#168518)

      According to a documentary I watched [imdb.com], this procedure was tested on earth in 1965. It didn't turn out so well for the people involved...

      Note to the humor impaired: check out the movie in that link, seriously. It's a great candidate for bad movie night; one of my favorites.

      --
      "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @01:52PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @01:52PM (#169321)

      Wouldn't that kill the life we intend to find? And a second question... Do we NEED to break the ice crust? The crust was deposited / moved there over time. Perhaps the ice at the top holds frozen microbes from a time it wasn't the frozen crust. And we have already seen frozen microbes from thousands of years ago thawed and returned to life on our planet. Just scrape some ice samples and insert under a microscope to beam images back to earth.

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday April 09 2015, @02:38PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday April 09 2015, @02:38PM (#168349) Journal

    Finding exoplanet atmospheric evidence of biology would count. Any discovery of microbes would be count. It can happen within 20 years.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by morgauxo on Thursday April 09 2015, @02:53PM

      by morgauxo (2082) on Thursday April 09 2015, @02:53PM (#168359)

      "Finding exoplanet atmospheric evidence of biology would count."

      No it wouldn't. That would just mean they found a ratio of gasses that is normally produced by biology. Or.. maybe gases they can't explain in any natural way, maybe it's pollution from a society of intelligent life. That's the only evidence of life we have any hope of finding over interstellar distances given curently forseeable technology and especially within 20 years.

      The problem is that that is only circumstancial at best. A huge claim (like alien life) requires huge evidence. There would be all sorts of speculation that different non-biological processes may be the actual cause. Or.. maybe even non-biological processes we have never seen before given our limited experience in a single solar system.

      For example.. just look at the discussion around methane plumes on Mars. It has scientists excited because microbes MIGHT be the cause. But then it could also just be volcanos! Don't get me wrong. Such a discovery would be exciting. It would also help motivate scientists to come up with more definitive tests for life and politicians to pay for it. It wouldnt actually prove anything though. IE no "discovery of life".

      "Any discovery of microbes would be count. It can happen within 20 years."

      Of course that would count! I think I explained why I think exactly that will not happen within 20 years. Feel free to disagree but it would be more interesting if you responded with specific reasons why you disagree or rebuttals to my reasons why I think it will not happen. You are just stating the opposite with no supporting evidence!

  • (Score: 1) by SanityCheck on Thursday April 09 2015, @07:13PM

    by SanityCheck (5190) on Thursday April 09 2015, @07:13PM (#168452)

    Why drill? Wouldn't it be easier to melt downwards?