9 ms·

I don't see the problem of introducing organisms to other planets.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
fwdpropaganda 9y ago
Here's one: when you get there and are looking for extra-terrestrial life, you won't know if the things you find are native, or if they got there on their own somehow, or if you brought them with you. Maybe you don't care, but I think that knowing the answer to that question would be super interesting.
- Chris2048 9y ago
  You still wouldn't know, would you?
- garmaine 9y ago
  Having a self sufficient human settlement on Mars would also be super interesting, and vital to reducing existential risk. You have to pick one.
  - dpkonofa 9y ago
    >You have to pick one. Why? Why can't you have both? Once we verify that there isn't measurable life on Mars, we can start a human settlement.
    - emiliobumachar 9y ago
      Even if there is life on Mars, we can consciously decide to build a colony that may wipe out that life, after we studied it.
- anigbrowl 9y ago
  It would, but there's a bunch of other celestial bodies that offer at least as much potential, eg Europa. I share your interest, but not to degree of stopping all other activity while you indulge your curiosity, because other people would like to go and explore directly. I'm not saying just ignore the issue and barrel ahead, but would-be exobiologists should make ambitious and timely proposals of what they intend to sample, what they expect to find, and how long they need to check, in order to give other people a chance to pursue their interests.
NathanKP 9y ago
From the link I sent: > The United States is a signatory to an international treaty that stipulates that exploration must be conducted in a manner that avoids of the transportation of living organisms to celestial bodies. First of all the US is part of a treaty, so if we do introduce organisms to other plants we are violating the treaty. > We wouldn't want to go to Mars and "discover" life - only to figure out later that we brought it with us! Scientists also want to study the planet and any life that might be there in its original "pristine state." Ultimately I guess it comes down to why you are sending something to space. If your goal is science then contaminating the planetary environment with organisms is not great. If your goal is colonization (which I guess is SpaceX goal) then you probably wouldn't care. But I still think it's something that should be considered.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  It definitely will be considered when they'll be actually aiming at Mars.
- hinkley 9y ago
  Aren’t humans half microbe by percentage of cells? Once we send someone on a one way trip it’s over. Hopefully we don’t intend to keep this treaty forever, or we’ll always be stuck on this one rock.
  - garmaine 9y ago
    The link is wrong. I work in this space and I know of no such international law regarding biological contamination, unless they are grossly misinterpreting the outer space treaty way beyond what it says and the context in which it is written.
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      Could you comment on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16325757 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16325757, did they err?
echeese 9y ago
Could infect the native population on the planet

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

Here's one: when you get there and are looking for extra-terrestrial life, you won't know if the things you find are native, or if they got there on their own somehow, or if you brought them with you. Maybe you don't care, but I think that knowing the answer to that question would be super interesting.

Chris2048 9y ago
You still wouldn't know, would you?
garmaine 9y ago
Having a self sufficient human settlement on Mars would also be super interesting, and vital to reducing existential risk. You have to pick one.
- dpkonofa 9y ago
  >You have to pick one. Why? Why can't you have both? Once we verify that there isn't measurable life on Mars, we can start a human settlement.
  - emiliobumachar 9y ago
    Even if there is life on Mars, we can consciously decide to build a colony that may wipe out that life, after we studied it.
anigbrowl 9y ago
It would, but there's a bunch of other celestial bodies that offer at least as much potential, eg Europa. I share your interest, but not to degree of stopping all other activity while you indulge your curiosity, because other people would like to go and explore directly. I'm not saying just ignore the issue and barrel ahead, but would-be exobiologists should make ambitious and timely proposals of what they intend to sample, what they expect to find, and how long they need to check, in order to give other people a chance to pursue their interests.

NathanKP 9y ago

From the link I sent: > The United States is a signatory to an international treaty that stipulates that exploration must be conducted in a manner that avoids of the transportation of living organisms to celestial bodies. First of all the US is part of a treaty, so if we do introduce organisms to other plants we are violating the treaty. > We wouldn't want to go to Mars and "discover" life - only to figure out later that we brought it with us! Scientists also want to study the planet and any life that might be there in its original "pristine state." Ultimately I guess it comes down to why you are sending something to space. If your goal is science then contaminating the planetary environment with organisms is not great. If your goal is colonization (which I guess is SpaceX goal) then you probably wouldn't care. But I still think it's something that should be considered.

TeMPOraL 9y ago
It definitely will be considered when they'll be actually aiming at Mars.
hinkley 9y ago
Aren’t humans half microbe by percentage of cells? Once we send someone on a one way trip it’s over. Hopefully we don’t intend to keep this treaty forever, or we’ll always be stuck on this one rock.
- garmaine 9y ago
  The link is wrong. I work in this space and I know of no such international law regarding biological contamination, unless they are grossly misinterpreting the outer space treaty way beyond what it says and the context in which it is written.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    Could you comment on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16325757 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16325757, did they err?

echeese 9y ago

Could infect the native population on the planet