More Evidence for Early Oceans on Mars

DestroyAllZombies writes "More news about Mars. The good news: New Scientist reports that more analysis of Rover data supports the claims for widespread oceans in Mars' distant past. The bad news, from the article: 'An ocean of water once wrapped around Mars, suggests the discovery of soil chemicals by NASA's rovers. But the same chemicals also indicate that life was not widespread on the planet at the time the ocean was present.'"

Comments

Bad news?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is it bad news to learn that there was never any life on Mars? Wouldn't it be much worse news to learn that life was common there and was utterly wiped out?

I think most people would agree that a planet-wide extinction of all life would qualify as 'bad news'.

Re:Bad news?

[Ireneo Funes]

Why not neutral news?
What do I care if a whole army of amoeba got pwned by massive climate change?

Oh... wait.

Re:Bad news?

[Yvanhoe]

I think the crowd here wants to live in a SF universe. I for one, would like to see a contact with an alien civilization in my lifetime, even if I think it is improbable. A Big Question in science is : Is the apparition of life on Earth a common event in the Universe or is it a unique and almost impossible event ?

Having proofs of ancient life on Mars would have put us a step nearer the alien contact. Of course the crowd here is mostly optimistic about aliens intentions :-)

Re:Bad news?

[ultranova]

Neither is good news or bad news. Science exists to quantify and explain, not to hope for something. If hope that life existed on Mars is the major reason for your research, you aren't being a scientist. You are being a cheerleader.

Wrong. Anyone who uses scientific method in his research is a scientist. It doesn't matter if he's motivated by dreams of going Kirk with alien females, or gets his kicks from abstract knowledge; purity of motive is irrelevant. The only requirement is the application of scientific method.

In any case, none of this matters. The news is bad for anyone who hoped to find life in Mars. Whether a scientist is allowed to belong to this group is irrelevant.

Re:If the water was there, where did it go?

[THE anonymus coward]

Mars doesn't have the same gravity that the Earth does, nor does it have a magnetic field to stop incoming solar wind. The water could have evaporated, and since it is a lighter element (than CO2, which is most of Mars' atmosphere) it could have just blown away.

That doesn't make any sense.

[Mikachu]

But the same chemicals also indicate that life was not widespread on the planet at the time the ocean was present.

Whoa whoa whoa... how is that bad news? We're not looking for widespread life, we're looking for life. In general. Any. At all. That sentence implies that there was life, just it wasn't widespread. I think that should have been reworded.

But disregarding that, just because there was a lot of phosphorus in the water doesn't mean that life couldn't exist there. It just means life identical to the structure of life on earth couldn't exist there. Who's to say that life has to be built just the way it is on earth?

Re:If the water was there, where did it go?

[Firehed]

Chances are that if Mars is getting a full blast of solar wind, it wouldn't have been too suitable for life anyways.

Re:The cold

[timmarhy]

actually i was reading a post by a pathologist a while ago concerning the fear of alien bacteria, and it's something of a misconception. it's actually very very likely that our bodies will be deadly to any alien life. example. can humans survive on mars unaided? no? so it means anything thats suited to the conditions on mars will die if exposed to our own viable conditions. interesting stuff i never thought it but it's quite obvious when you think it through.

Re:If the water was there, where did it go?

[aussie_a]

This is a function of having a molten core, if there is moving metal, there is a magnetic field

Couldn't that weak field be the residual of one dissapearing or the beginnings of one forming around Mars as a result of a Geomagnetic reversal? Is there definite proof that Mars doesn't have a molten core? Or are we assuming because it has no field?

Re:Of course there could have been water on Mars..

[GrumpySimon]

Ahh... but you've been corrupted by "science" and that "evolution" fairy tale. All graduands of the Kansas school system know that the world is only 6,000 years old

Re:If the water was there, where did it go?

[Cadallin]

Any number of places. A lot of it might be trapped as ice or hydrate crystals underground. At least some of it is frozen at the north and south poles. And as others have noted, Mars has significantly lower gravity than earth (approximately 1/3 gee acceleration at the surface), which significantly impedes its ability to hold an atmosphere (which holds water), and additionally lacks a magnetosphere (through not being geologically active, a metallic core surrounded by liquid layers is necessary for one) which increases the effect of the solar wind on atmosphere loss.

Re:If the water was there, where did it go?

[Olix]

What about Milla Jovovich? She is probably heavier than water - does than mean she is still on Mars?

Arrrr!!

[krell]

And where there be oceans, there be pirates. And where there be pirates, there be buried treasure! Hoist up the sails, me hearties, and set course to Marrrrs!