Water on mars

Bleusilences · Post by **Bleusilences** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:01 pm

Like may of you know now, they seem to be evidence of water flowing on mars because of the composition of the rocks. I find this thing a bit weird, beca use now mars is a gigantic desert. Is there some theory abot this state of mars that I am unaware?

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:30 pm

The reports say there was ONCE water on the planet which means it was capable of maintaining life as we know it. That water is now gone it appears so yea. Although it may be possible that water is frozen still on the polars, I doubt it. May I suggest rereading the article that said that there is, as of the present, water on mars.

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 5:08 pm

Didn't they say that there was water on mars years ago? I remember them talking about the polar caps and "river-like" passages in the mars photos. I think it was in a show on the Discovery Channel way back when, but I'm not sure.

Jimmyjay86 · Post by **Jimmyjay86** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:32 pm

There has been some evidence of water on Mars for quite a few years but the latest is definitive evidence of its existence. I'm sure geologists can make many assumptions on the cause of Mars' current environment but there is still lots of important data that is being discovered. It will take years to analyze all this data to determine theories on what may have happened in the past.

SDMVersion3 · Post by **SDMVersion3** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:54 pm

Jimmyjay86 wrote: It will take years to analyze all this data to determine theories on what may have happened in the past.

SDMVersion3, you are an idiot........

...

Actually, I'm throwing my hat into gravitic shifts.

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:56 pm

Waste of time and money. We know there isn't a god damn thing there, and if people took space exploration seriously we'd already be walking on Mars and have bases all over the fuckin moon.

SDMVersion3 · Post by **SDMVersion3** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:02 pm

Mad Max RW wrote:Waste of time and money. We know there isn't a god damn thing there, and if people took space exploration seriously we'd already be walking on Mars and have bases all over the fuckin moon.

I think that a refuelling station on the moon, or one orbitting mars, would be a better expenditure than this "international house of space" BS they're making up there.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:04 pm

Who knows how far we'll advance in the next few decades now that Japs and us Euros have started conquering the space as well... More people willing to try means more chances to succeed, eh?

And besides - if they found life on Mars, how could it be there if there never was any water? Water being "The Elixir of Life" and shit.

Jimmyjay86 · Post by **Jimmyjay86** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:24 pm

Just because water exists doesn't mean that life exists. Water doesn't need to exist in lakes or rivers on a planet. It can be locked in groundwater, or just frozen in the ground. We have already determined that the only surface water on Mars is probably locked in ice.

It seems like it is important for us to understand the history of Mars. Finding out the causes of atmosphere loss could help us understand problems on our own world. It could also be a potential location for colonization in the future.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:28 pm

Did I say "because water exists life exists"? I think it was the other way around - they found living (?) bacteria on Mars some time ago, which would've needed water to survive.

"Because life exists, water exists"?
This 'knowledge' is based on something I think I read from some newspaper or something.

Jimmyjay86 · Post by **Jimmyjay86** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:53 pm

Kash, shut up, you have no clue as to what you are talking about.

SDMVersion3 · Post by **SDMVersion3** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:40 pm

Jimmyjay86 wrote:Kash, shut up, you have no clue as to what you are talking about.

They did indeed find bacteria on mars, I believe.

The best reason I can see to find out why Mars is dryed up now is to see if it was global warming, and if it was, about how long it took.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:22 pm

See? Me no dumb efter all!

Jimmyjay86 · Post by **Jimmyjay86** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:30 pm

What?? They didn't find bacteria on Mars. They found some on a meteorite they think may have been from Mars in Antarctica, but that is most probably a contaminated sample.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:45 pm

I thought it was most positively identified as coming from mars and that the bacteria was too old for it to be contaminated? I don't know, its been awhile since I read the article so you're most likely right JJ. As to "How can the life exist without water", just to venture a rather open minded guess. Maybe it was silicone based instead of hydrogen? Because of this maybe water isn't as neccesary? Just an idea. The idea of alien lifeforms is really one where it can be incredibly general. How do we define "life" if its alien?

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:48 pm

Yay, that's true...
And I'd really be happy to provide you guys with links, but I thought you were aware of this. I've got some books in my shelve that mention "life on Mars" in form of bacteria... And those are propably a couple of years old, so I thought this was all old news?

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD · Wed Mar 03, 2004 10:21 pm

its not actually like they found them on mars itself though. they just found them in rocks that could of come from anywhere. once the find bacteria that is actually found on mars then they can say there was life on mars.

maybe the bacteria was a disease that killed the advanced martian civilization and destroyed the atmosphere.

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:22 am

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD wrote:Holier Than Thou

Been listening to Metallica lately, eh? That is a fine choice, my friend. In fact, the Black Album is full of good songs. Fine choice!

As for Mars, the real reason why we are even bothering is quite elementary: NASA has nothing better to do. If they had nothing to do, then their budget would be slashed to almost nothing, and they most certainly don't want this. The whole "Mars exploration" bit is their way of keeping their jobs, if at least for a short while.

Grey Fil · Post by **Grey Fil** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 11:51 am

Murphy now is your turn to stfu.

Mars exploration is very important in scientific terms. Some years ago scientists discovered the so called nuclear winter effect on Mars that they then extrapolated to Earth to make nuclear war something much worse then previously expected. It was a dud but it helped avoid a nuclear war in the final years of the cold war. That looks like a good thing to me.
There has been some suggestions that water exists in mars for some years now, the more recent discoveries make it very probable that water in liquid form existed in some form in mars. Why did the climate change so much that mars is now so barren and dry is an important question because it can help understand our own planet. Planet earth had some extreme glaciary periods in wich almost all the water in the planet froze. Why did it warm up again while mars didnt is a question that can one day be crucial for our planet.
The controversial bacteria in a martian meteorite found in antarctida is not due to contamination, the doubt is if it is a fossil bacteria that would prove existence of life on mars or inorganic matter that resembles a bacteria in form.

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:04 pm

Chill Grey, I only wanted to shake up the discussion with my last post. I support NASA and their efforts to explore our solar system, although I want to smack them upside the head when they make stupid mistakes that cause disasters like the Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986. All in all, they do a good job.