Mars and the search for traces of life - conference

Hi,
I thought you could find this interesting:

16 November 2007
The European Mars Science & Exploration Conference: Mars Express and ExoMars has just concluded.

We present interviews with selected experts on the hot topic: Mars and the search for traces of life.

Jean-Pierre Bibring

Mars Express OMEGA Principal Investigator and ExoMars Microscope co-Team Coordinator, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, France
Subjects: Mars mineralogy and surface water evolution
Read interview transcript

Agustin Chicarro

Mars Express Project Scientist, ESA-ESTEC, Netherlands
Subjects: Mars Express mission and science overview, Mars geology and planetary evolution
Read interview transcript

Roberto Orosei

Roberto OROSEI, Ma_Miss infra-red spectrometer (ExoMars drill) Team, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (IASF), Italy
Subjects: Exomars drill operations & subsurface mineralogy
Read interview transcript

John Parnell

ExoMars Life Marker Chip Science Team and Associate Scientist for ExoMars Raman-LIBS Team, University of Aberdeen, UK
Subjects: Exobiology and biomarkers
Read interview transcript

Jeffrey Plaut

Mars Express MARSIS co-Principal Investigator, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA
Subjects: Martian subsurface sounding, underground water inventory
Read interview transcript

Jorge Vago

ExoMars Project Scientist, ESA-ESTEC, Netherlands
Subjects: ExoMars mission and science overview, Martian space environment
Read interview transcript

Frances Westall

ExoMars Microscope co-Team Coordinator, CNRS, France
Subjects: Exobiology, origin of life during planetary history, extreme environments
Read interview transcript

Source:
www.esa.int...


[edit on 16/11/2007 by internos]

reply to post by internos


Good post. I realize that your quote seems a bit large, but I hope the mods leave it, as some people need to see it here because on dial-up it might take a while.

From looking at this group, one would think that the search for exobiological traces are being taken seriously.

Are these guys aware that Mars has a population of 600 million people, right?

Originally posted by NGC2736
reply to post by internos

 

Good post. I realize that your quote seems a bit large, but I hope the mods leave it, as some people need to see it here because on dial-up it might take a while.

From looking at this group, one would think that the search for exobiological traces are being taken seriously.

Thank you, NGC2736, i hope it will be leaved too
Yes, these guys knows what they're doing, IMHO: the interviews are interesting to say the least


[edit on 16/11/2007 by internos]

reply to post by TheoOne


They're only looking for one celled life, nothing considered advanced is being counted. Unless there are politicians there, the population will be above their interest level.

Originally posted by TheoOne
Are these guys aware that Mars has a population of 600 million people, right?

How could you possibly know that?

Don't live too much under the rock.

reply to post by internos


Reading the interviews, it seems that those involved with have a high expectation of finding some sign of past organic activity on Mars. While there is no outright statement to that effect, it seems to be a strong undercurrent with them.

However, no one seems to expect anything of a complex nature to have evolved in the time frame when Mars is considered to have been more hospitable to life as we know it.

I certainly hope there are some surprises. It is in the surprise findings that great leaps forward in understanding take place.