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| Complex life on Mars; Not at all a serious idea. | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 31 2009, 04:28 PM (1,271 Views) | |
| T.Neo | Jul 31 2009, 04:28 PM Post #1 |
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Translunar injection: TLI
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I had the idea today, of complex life living on Mars. Of course, it isn't any sort of serious idea, the extreme environment, scarcity of resources and the dry history of the planet, would probably prohibit even single-celled organisms from living on the surface. But, since complex life living in the vacuum of space was discussed on these forums, which I'd regard as many levels more implausible, I'll go ahead anyway. Could organisms survive the near-vacuum and temperature, how would they gain energy? Would there be any way for life to evolve into such forms? Would this perhaps be more plausible if Mars was warmer, wetter and more active? |
| A hard mathematical figure provides a sort of enlightenment to one's understanding of an idea that is never matched by mere guesswork. | |
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| T.Neo | Aug 5 2009, 04:27 PM Post #16 |
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Translunar injection: TLI
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Early Mars might have been slightly warmer, certainly wetter, it probably had a thicker CO2 atmosphere as well. The great oceans of the northern lowlands and the Hellas basin were probably iced over most of the time, Mars could have been comparable to a thin aired Greenland or Antarctica. However, as the magnetic field waned and the water evaporated into space or disappeared underground, the air thinned out to what it is today leaving great wastelands where the oceans were. Now, of course if life evolved on early Mars many things would be different. Imagine what Earth would be like today without life- probably a sort of methane cloaked Venus-lite. Now any hypothetical life, evolving under the oceanic ice packs, could have changed the chemistry severely, but they certainly could not have stopped the magnetic field weakening, or the atmosphere escaping, or the oceans drying out. Perhaps complex life could evolve earlier on Mars due to increased environmental pressures, but it could also have been simple for most of history, living in cave aquifers and eventually evolving resistance to the surface conditions. (Water gets spat out onto the surface often- look at the relatively recent water carved gullies near the north pole.) But if life changed the environment, how would it be changed? A thin atmosphere of oxygen instead of carbon dioxide? A perhaps warmer planet? A Barlowe-esque amoebic sea in the lowlands? |
| A hard mathematical figure provides a sort of enlightenment to one's understanding of an idea that is never matched by mere guesswork. | |
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| ATEK Azul | Aug 5 2009, 07:20 PM Post #17 |
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Transhuman
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I think an amoebic sea might replace the ice caps and cover most of where the oceans use to exist, I can also see a larger atmosphere as life pumps out O2, CO2 and Methane. Other differences is it might be warmer with flora being back and putting out heat as a by product at night so that the air doesn't fluctuate as much as it could. The life might have an iron or steel exoskeleton to reflect harmful radiation and provide a tough structure for support. most life will also have iron in their blood. The life in the amoebic sea will have a denser substance that move the way it wants to swim and walk through along with lower gravity. |
| I am dyslexic, please ignore the typo's! | |
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9:35 AM Jul 11