4 ms·

I'm kinda of this thought process as well. If there are hospitable conditions there and we haven't found microbes after a while, I think we should just start du

by trose 11y ago

I'm kinda of this thought process as well. If there are hospitable conditions there and we haven't found microbes after a while, I think we should just start dumping tons of them over there. We need something to put some atmosphere there for us. Algae seems to be a really good bet.

WalterBright 11y ago
And suppose we do find some biological slime there? Does that then make Mars off limits to all of humanity for all time?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- bdamm 11y ago
  It's time for us to accept that we implicitly modify everything we touch. Prime directive needs to have some detectability metric by which we decide it's OK for us to go gangbusters. If the native martian amoebas cannot survive with us present then they lose the evolution race, sorry. Besides, if there are primitive life forms on Mars, it's quite presumptuous of us to assume we could so easily wipe them out.
  - outworlder 11y ago
    While I agree with the general idea, I also hope that, if there are more advanced civilizations out there and they find us, that they don't consider us "native amoebas".
    - bdamm 11y ago
      Me too, although our morality doesn't influence their choices unless we can communicate with them and/or realistically fight for our survival. Do you think there are races out there quietly observing our behavior and preparing their verdict? If so, I sure hope we are given awareness of membership in the law before the sentencing.
  - WalterBright 11y ago
    I seriously doubt anything at all will be found living on Mars, and if there is, it'll be primitive slime. Mars becomes infinitely more interesting if it can become a host for terrestrial life.
- hollerith 11y ago
  I always thought that the main reason for being careful about bringing microbes to Mars is so that it is easier to tell whether any microbes we find on Mars evolved there. I thought that being careful about bringing microbes to Mars will stop being important to most of the people who currently care about it after we determine where any microbes we find there evolved. Was I wrong about that?
semi-extrinsic 11y ago
In that scenario you're saying that the Martian landscape itself is not worthy of preservation, while any microorganisms could be. Both amoeba and rocks have no claim to consciousness etc., so why is one worthy of preservation while the other is not?
- coldtea 11y ago
  OP is not interested in preservation for preservation's sake. It's not like we should care about the consciousness of microbes. What he meant, as I read it, is that if there are microbes we'll want to sample them and study them BEFORE we change the landscape and possible kill them.

by trose 11y ago

WalterBright 11y ago

And suppose we do find some biological slime there? Does that then make Mars off limits to all of humanity for all time?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
bdamm 11y ago
It's time for us to accept that we implicitly modify everything we touch. Prime directive needs to have some detectability metric by which we decide it's OK for us to go gangbusters. If the native martian amoebas cannot survive with us present then they lose the evolution race, sorry. Besides, if there are primitive life forms on Mars, it's quite presumptuous of us to assume we could so easily wipe them out.
- outworlder 11y ago
  While I agree with the general idea, I also hope that, if there are more advanced civilizations out there and they find us, that they don't consider us "native amoebas".
  - bdamm 11y ago
    Me too, although our morality doesn't influence their choices unless we can communicate with them and/or realistically fight for our survival. Do you think there are races out there quietly observing our behavior and preparing their verdict? If so, I sure hope we are given awareness of membership in the law before the sentencing.
- WalterBright 11y ago
  I seriously doubt anything at all will be found living on Mars, and if there is, it'll be primitive slime. Mars becomes infinitely more interesting if it can become a host for terrestrial life.
hollerith 11y ago
I always thought that the main reason for being careful about bringing microbes to Mars is so that it is easier to tell whether any microbes we find on Mars evolved there. I thought that being careful about bringing microbes to Mars will stop being important to most of the people who currently care about it after we determine where any microbes we find there evolved. Was I wrong about that?

semi-extrinsic 11y ago

In that scenario you're saying that the Martian landscape itself is not worthy of preservation, while any microorganisms could be. Both amoeba and rocks have no claim to consciousness etc., so why is one worthy of preservation while the other is not?

coldtea 11y ago
OP is not interested in preservation for preservation's sake. It's not like we should care about the consciousness of microbes. What he meant, as I read it, is that if there are microbes we'll want to sample them and study them BEFORE we change the landscape and possible kill them.