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The interesting question is that since water is such a fantastic medium for earth-based life, how can we make sure that any probe sent from here to say, sample
by gambiting 5y ago
The interesting question is that since water is such a fantastic medium for earth-based life, how can we make sure that any probe sent from here to say, sample the water on Europa won't contaminate it. It's my understanding that even though all planetary landers are sanitized it's almost impossible to make sure no life survives on them. Which I guess isn't too much of an issue on the moon or Mars, but any microbes would have much better chances of surviving in the water environment of Europa.
- dtx1 5y agoOn the other hand, accidently planting life there to make it inhabitable one day doesn't sound too bad either
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoMakes me wonder if even a probe never landing would 'shed' some biological material that eventually makes its way onto the surface. Then again, there's plenty of theories that asteroids and other impacts have caused enough of a splash to throw trace life bearing materials into space and eventually onto other planets or moons. My current theory is that we will find traces of e.g. bacteria all over our solar system, but it'll be genetically traceable back to Earth. That said, if it turns out life as we know actually started on e.g. Mars, that would be huge and probably a big accelerator for more missions there.
- ASalazarMX 5y ago> That said, if it turns out life as we know actually started on e.g. Mars, that would be huge and probably a big accelerator for more missions there. Mining ice deposits would be a pretty hairy business, as any surviving microorganisms would be compatible with our biology.
- clarionbell 5y agoThat depends on the nutrients available. Water is one necessity for terran life, but you also need some building material and a source of energy. And obviously absence of anything toxic. In short lot of things need to align. Now, even if there are conditions favorable for our bacteria, the question of competition remains. Hypothetically, the invaders can carve niche in local ecology, as they often do on Earth, or they might utterly fail, as happens even more often on Earth. If there are organisms on Europa already, and that is a big 'if', they would have several billions of years worth of head start adapting to the environment and molding it to their image. Conversely, newly introduced bacteria, already damaged by exposure to deep space and deprived of nutrients for many months or years, would see it for the first time. It isn't given that this experience would work out for them, to say at least.
- twic 5y agoThis is the job of the space agencies' planetary protection officers: https://sma.nasa.gov/sma-disciplines/planetary-protection https://sma.nasa.gov/sma-disciplines/planetary-protection https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/Planetary_protection https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Ex... There's a handbook and everything: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic/NHY0a2o4bVRJQWhPQkpRajBuRWNXWTgxdS9RWEFXdXJBUzVVeDA1WXYzbXpBeGJ5dWZyd3N3PT0=/attachment/VFEyQTQ4M3ptUWRBd1IwZnoramRydVNQZlNYQUplalA= https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloa...
- ceejayoz 5y agoI know it's a lot more mundane than it sounds, but what a title to have on your business cards.
- mrfusion 5y agoBetter to take that risk and learn what’s there than to never know.