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Mars Soil Appears To Be Able To Sustain Life
beckerist writes "Scientists working on the Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which has already found ice on the planet, said preliminary analysis by the lander's instruments on a sample of soil scooped up by the spacecraft's robotic arm had shown it to be much more alkaline than expected. Sam Kounaves, the lead investigator for the wet chemistry laboratory on Phoenix, told journalists: 'It is the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard, you know, alkaline. You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well. ... It is very exciting for us.'"
It would probably lead to a very smelly planet.
Is it true that more people vote for the winner of American Idol, than vote for the president? -Ali G.
Let's hope the lander doesn't break down before next year's asparagus season.
Lets see if it works. Send a bunch of seeds that we think will grow there. Of course the lack of water might be a problem. Are there any arctic cactus?
You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well. ... It is very exciting for us.
And I thought I didn't get out much.
Blank until
TFA refers to a 1 cubic meter sample (35 cubic feet). That is one sweet lander...
So nothing originally from Earth, then...
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1hvRUNc9W-3lupLU6TLQtR0gdRAD91I04D01
Some quotes...
Preliminary results showed the soil had a pH between 8 and 9, researchers said. A pH less than 7 means the solution is acidic, while a pH over 7 means it is salty. Phoenix also detected the presence of magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride in the mixture.
"It's typical of the soil here on Earth minus the organics," Kounaves said during a teleconference from Tucson, Ariz. ...
The heating experiment, which was designed to look for organics, did not yield conclusive evidence of carbon. Scientists planned to study another soil sample taken from further below the surface.
Martian pot is what I'm waiting for. I'm sure it would be outta this world.
rewriting history since 2109
I can see the headlines now in all the papers, when this quote goes mainstream;
TOP SCIENTIST CLAIM MARS SOIL SUPPORTS ASPARAGUS LIKE LIFE FORMS!
Just more evidence that Big Asparagus has co-opted our national science agenda.
Assuming that at some point some tiny little bacteria-like thingy is actually found on Mars, what guarantee do we have that it originated there, as opposed to coming from Earth as contamination during any of our Mars missions?
And why am I unable to write in short sentences?
Has everyone forgotten Mars has no ozone layer? The soil may contain the necessary minerals and other nutrients, but it's baked under UV rays and (last I heard) full of peroxides and other unfriendly chemicals as a result. Starting with plants is putting the cart before the horse; we should be thinking about extremophiles if we're serious about this. And would it be ethical?
~Eien no Inori wo Sasagete~ Searching for my Hatsumi...
To generate a new atmosphere you would need volcanic activity (which Mars apparently has not had in a while) to start the greenhouse effect. Mars is too cold and geologically dead to develop a new Earth-like atmosphere. A collision probably wouldn't help.
In fact, it's possible that a collision was responsible for destroying a previous Earth-like atmosphere on Mars.
Farnsworth: Well, in those days, Mars was just a dreary uninhabitable wasteland. Much like Utah. But unlike Utah, it was eventually made livable.
Well, the *soil* might be capable of supporting Asparagus, but the seeds might not like the temperature, atmosphere, or ambient radiation.
- "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
After all, Mars and cocoa go together like IBM and genetic sequencing.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Can you imagine? You get the munchies, and all there is to eat is asparagus? Ugh.
That's it, I'm joining People for the Ethical Treatment of Asparagus! How dare they send cute little innocent asparagii off to Mars! Don't you know plants have feelings too?
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
The ethical concerns have already been addressed. If the martians don't like our plans, they can file a formal complaint. The plans will be properly displayed for a sufficient duration in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'.
The laws of probability forbid it!
Ok so how many asteroids do we need to crash into Mars to give it some greenhouse gases and an atmosphere similar to Earth's?
You'll want to be crashing comets into Mars, not asteriods. After all, what is crashing a rock into Mars going to do, apart from adding a new crater? Crashing a couple of megatons of CO2, H2O, and other gasses into Mars, well that's a different story. Not only do you get your brand new crater, but you add a couple of megatons of C02, H2O, and other gasses to the atmosphere.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Well let's really put it into perspective.
Annual sales of Microsoft Windows, $8b
Annual sales of popcorn in the US, $1b
One day in Iraq, $300M.
Sending an intelligent lander to Mars and establishing that it could support life, priceless.
Statesman
The two endeavors are not mutually exclusive. Terraforming and manned exploration could occur in parallel.
--- Tao
The entertainments you call fitting for adults strike me as juvenile pursuits. I would never seek to make it illegal for you to pursue them, but please clearly understand, I will never accept your claim that these interests make you a more mature adult human being.
Bringing about the birth of living worlds from previously dead worlds may be an impossible dream, as you claim, but the beauty of its potential is stirring enough to make it a worthy goal for a mature intelligent species.
If we fail to achieve this goal on Mars, we can and should find other planets where it can succeed. If we also fail to do that, it will be because we allowed ourselves to be distracted by short term pleasures such as those you describe, or because we followed your siren call to pour all our resources into repeatedly failing "solutions" for perennial problems such as poverty or disease. By all means, let us continue trying to solve humanity's problems on this planet. But don't use that as an excuse to shut down all space exploration efforts.
I care about humanity more deeply than you seem to be able to imagine. I care enough to want a future for humanity that extends beyond the lifespan of any single planet, beyond the lifespan of any single star system, and if possible, beyond the lifespan of any single galaxy. How is this any less mature than the desire of parents to hope their children and grandchildren might continue to prosper for many future generations?
If we fail to secure such a future for our descendants, the end result might very well be a sterile, dead universe, where nobody else will ever again have the chance to enjoy sex, skydiving, skiing or anything else adults do for excitement.
Bringing Mars to life may be so difficult it approaches the impossible. But it may be the best place to take the first step toward opening up the universe for humankind, and that makes it worth the effort.
To Mars, Again!
WASHINGTON -- NASA has submitted funding proposals for a new Mars mission, scheduled to launch in 2012. The mission will entail a new Mars lander called the Advanced Series Polymorphic Asparagus Research Automated Growing Unit Seedfarm, or ASPARAGUS, and is expected to grow several varieties of asparagus in martian soil.
"[We] might be able to grow asparagus in it really well... It is very exciting for us" says Sam Kounaves, mission planner for the new endevour.
The lander will be expected to gather soil and deposit it into a 'grow-op' like container, where asparagus seeds will be added to the mix. "We just don't know what will happen after that, it will be very exciting to watch the developments unfold over subsequent weeks." he adds.
Included in the lander will be a CD filled with asparagus recipies for future astronauts of the first manned Mars mission, planned for 2050. "The CD will contain dozens of recipies all featuring asparagus as the main ingredient. Things like boiled asparagus, steamed asparagus, steam boiled asparagus, fried asparagus, and even just plain asparagus!" says Angela Schmidt, the mission's asparagus habilitation expert.
The $480 million project is expected to be greenlit later this year.
Murphey's fighting Occam, and we're in the stands.
I think the news here is that you would not have to bring native soil to Mars if you wanted to farm. Yea, you would have to farm under a dome but at least you don't have to transport a few tons of topsoil!
Would nuking it produce a similar effect?
>_>
I'd actually disagree. ID claims the Earth was designed for life; it makes no particular claims about the rest of the solar system. If anything, ID's claim that the Earth is "special" could be interpreted to mean that the other planets can't support life (although even if the Earth is "special" it doesn't necessarily mean that).
However, if we discover that despite having the ability to support life Mars was completely sterile, that would support ID, IMHO. At least, it would shed a doubtful light on the probability of evolution: If evolution actually works the way it's supposed to, then a planet that "can" support life should eventually develop life if given enough time. Given the amount and variety of life found on Earth, Mars ought to have had enough time for a few microbes to have evolved at least.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
If you've been following the discoveries about Mars over the last dozen years or so, you've probably noticed that each new revelation followed a trend of making the existence of past or present life on the planet more possible. This latest discovery certainly maintains the pattern. I think it's at the point where if evidence of life is dicovered, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Given how tenacious life is, and given how hospitable we now know Mars to be, I think it is likely that some form of life has evolved a way to survive on the present-day planet. Keep in mind that Mars is not always so cold. Tempatures can get well above freezing during the summer in some places. Condidtions just aren't as harsh as some of the places we find life on earth - like inside nuclear reactor cores.
Except that believers in so-called "intelligent design" don't need reasons to believe it. The one reason they have is Genesis, Chapter 1.
If a god had designed the Universe and wanted you to know about it, you would know by now -- the evidence would be irrefutable. I submit that either (a) no god designed the Universe, or (b) a god designed the Universe and doesn't think humanity has need-to-know access to the fact. I won't rule out (b), but I think that if a god did design the Universe, it was akin to shaking a snow globe and letting the little snowflakes move of their own accord thereafter.
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
I'm perpetually amused that folks whine how we can't replace an old-growth forest or rainforest but terraforming a planet, hey, no problem there. All you need to do is sprinkle a little spores and fairy dust and boom you have Earth II, except without all the people mucking it up...
You asked the question and answered it at the same time. Life is very resilient to most anything short of more aggressive life. The old growth forests actually require less effort to fix than to kick-start mars. All you have to do is leave them alone for awhile and they would recover on their own. Keeping people from continuing to drag them down further is the trick. Mars has the edge here in that it's very hard for US to screw it up.
It's more economical to spend $500mil to start an ecosystem that will maintain and develop itself without further interaction, fertilized only with time, than to spend $100mil every few years trying to keep fixing up what people keep breaking, and still continue to lose ground.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.