Liquid Water on Mars? Life???

You may or may not have heard about this... but few people seem to be understanding how important this news could be:

Before-and-after images of gullies on the planet taken by Nasa's Mars Global Surveyor show liquid has flowed on the Red Planet in the last five years.

Scientists have previously pointed to features that suggest flowing water on Mars billions of years ago and have collected images of ice at the Martian north pole.

The discovery is unexpected because the planet's temperatures and atmospheric pressure are too low to allow water to exist in liquid form for long.

It suggests geological activity could be heating water beneath the surface so that it is warm enough to flow for long enough to leave deposits behind.

Source

Water that is kept liquid by geological action on Mars is BIG news. A basic rule of thumb is that where there's water, there's life. Here on Earth life exists in places that should be impossible (sealed caves, artic deserts, and within blacksmokers) as long as there's some amount of liquid water.

So far, we haven't been able to drill into Mars to see what might be going on below the surface. We already know that there's trace amounts of frozen water on the surface, but few people had thought that there could be liquid water moving underground. It is entierly possible that there could be life existing below the surface of the Red Planet, even to this day.

Even more important (to us) is that if there's water on Mars that could be extracted, it means that we could set up a manned outpost there A LOT more easily than if it was dry (as previously thought). It means that water supplies taken on the trip wouldn't have to be so large (water is heavy). It also means that this water could be used to create a renewable supply of oxygen (for breathing) and hydrogen (for power).

If this discovery is true, we're a giant leap closer to being able to estabish ourselves on another world.

That is amazing!

Oh,I certainly realize how important it is...However,I think that it is hilarious because the "debunkers" don't know how to react... That is the real reason why these threads are not getting a response...The believers are not surprised by these findings at all...However, the "debunkers" who usually post on these kind of threads aren't posting.. Why? What are they going to say? What can they say? The proof is in the pudding...

Now granted, any lifeform on Mars may not be what we would hope to find, maybe just microbial,but still, it's a form of life and it would be indicative that there may also be more advanced forms of life elsewhere...

Also,as you said, this also leaves the doors open to possible habitation eventually by humans...We'll just have to wait and see.

[edit on 8-12-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 8-12-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 8-12-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

I think it's pretty fascinating that they've found water traces on Mars after this red, dusty, un-inhabitable planet image was created for Mars for so long. I think it's cool to think about the possibility of life being on Mars, but, I'm more interested in intelligent life rather than micro-organisms. But, having said that, like SpeakerofTruth said, this definately does give a huge boost to the possibility of us finding intelligent life on other planets, most likely outside our Solar System. I just hope it happens in my lifetime.

Hehe, I sometimes wonder when we're going to discover intelligent life on Earth!


While I'm quite sure there's intelligence out there someplace (the universe is just too damned vast for this particular fluke to only happen here), I stongly doubt that we're ever going to be able to make contact. Ya see... the thing about "aliens" is that they are alien. Totally different. We can't understand any other creature on our own rock (and seem to even have trouble understanding eachother, most of the time) so how can we expect to be able to communicate with something that is from a completely different enviroment?

We've got some evolving to do before we can even start to hope for that, methinks.

However, being able to put a self sustianing colony on Mars could be a major step for humanity. It would be a new resource base. It would present new scientific challanges. It would give us a new frontier to explore and settle. It would give us something wonderful to cast our eyes upon instead of continuing to place our wrath upon one-another.

Truly, it could be "a giant leap for ManKind".

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Oh,I certainly realize how important it is...However,I think that it is hilarious because the "debunkers" don't know how to react...

I've seen you say this once before. What debunker's exactly? I don't think anyone denies that there has been water on Mars. There's definitely a lot of evidence for it.

That is the real reason why these threads are not getting a response...The believers are not surprised by these findings at all...However, the "debunkers" who usually post on these kind of threads aren't posting.. Why? What are they going to say? What can they say? The proof is in the pudding...

No one can say for 100% certain that this is water. There are other possibilities, but the evidence for water being on Mars is defiantly very compelling and it's probably more than likely water.

Why these threads aren't getting many replies? (besides the fact that there are so many all over the forum). I don't know, but for me personally I don't have a lot of information to go on. Further studies need to be done to learn more about it.

Originally posted by BitRaiser
Hehe, I sometimes wonder when we're going to discover intelligent life on Earth!

Yes, I've wondered that too.


And about the new resources..woo hoo!! Now Bush can declare war on another planet!!

discussion regarding water on mars already ongoing in this thread
www.abovetopsecret.com...

please continue discussion there. thread closed.