# Curiosity is piqued: Will it find life?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 31, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972 "2012-07-31T16:58:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/1 "2012-07-31T16:58:21Z")
So, in a mere 5 days and 13 hours ([wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory) has a handy timer), the Mars Science Laboratory, aka Curiosity, is going to land (well, attempt to…).
One of its goals will be to directly search for life (microbial, obviously) on Mars for the first time since those [tantalizing hints](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_biological_experiments) from the Viking probes. So, in your humble opinion, what’s it gonna find? Dead rocks? Microbes? An ancient evil that, once awakened, will head to Earth to feast on our succulent flesh? Bigfoot?
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### Author:  [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/2 "2012-07-31T19:37:48Z")
The chances are a million to one (he said)
I doubt it - so, just dead rocks.
Si
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/3 "2012-07-31T21:25:58Z")
Obama’s real birth certificate. 🙂
If I had to bet, I’d say “no life”. I’m thinking that life would be pretty easy to find if it were there. We’ve been looking for a long time.
But I could be wrong.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/4 "2012-07-31T21:48:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Obama’s real birth certificate. 🙂
>
> If I had to bet, I’d say “no life”. I’m thinking that life would be pretty easy to find if it were there. We’ve been looking for a long time.
>
> But I could be wrong.
They did find life in 1976 or so top scientists are saying again. It just happens to be the most under reported science story of the 20th century and NASA made little attempt to follow up on it with subsequent probes. They are doing another half-assed attempt with this one too.
> **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/?plckOnPage=2)**
>
> Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.
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### Author:  [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/5 "2012-07-31T22:23:56Z")
If there is photosythetic-based life on Mars, how come there is no free oxygen in the atmosphere?
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### Author:  [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/6 "2012-07-31T22:30:40Z")
I have a strong gut feeling that life is everywhere in the Universe and the new lander will find proof of it on Mars. I have no evidence to back this up but with my user name what would you expect me to say.
**CAPT**
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### Author:  [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/7 "2012-07-31T23:28:41Z")
Not Cthulhu, but Ray Walston fersure.
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### Author:  [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/8 "2012-07-31T23:40:32Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#):
>
> …with my user name what would you expect me to say.
>
> **CAPT**
“I believe. LIFE! Is… EVERYwhere! I submit that. YOU! Are illogical!”😃
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/9 "2012-07-31T23:43:28Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#):
>
> The chances are a million to one (he said)
>
> I doubt it - so, just dead rocks.
>
> Si
Totally love that musical. (Or opera, or whatever it technically is.)
Hope you’re wrong; fear you’re right.
I also have the theory that there is life on Mars…but that it was carried there by the Viking lander. It’s earth life, at least in origin. People have told me that no earth microbe could survive long enough on Mars to adapt and reproduce, but when you look at the extremophilic microorganisms here on earth, one must wonder.
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### Author:  [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/10 "2012-07-31T23:44:49Z")
Life, Jim, but not as we know it.
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### Author:  [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/11 "2012-07-31T23:47:57Z")
I’m going to say no life. I think if there was life, there would be teeming life.
I do believe there is life out there somewhere though. Just not currently on Mars.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/12 "2012-08-01T00:08:56Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#):
>
> The chances are a million to one (he said)
Million-to-one chances come off nine times out of ten!
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/13 "2012-08-01T00:33:25Z")
How about fossil evidence of past life?
Yes like at least one other poster I am underwhelmed by NASA’s “attempts” to try to conclusively answer this question one way or another, as much as current technology can allow. We probably won’t know for sure until humans finally go there and can then subject everything they find to dozens of tests.
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### Author:  [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/14 "2012-08-01T00:42:36Z")
Nothing is stopping life to exist on Mars or anywhere for that matter.
Of course we should have found some shreds of evidence by now, somewhere.
It could be that, it’s too alien, and we aren’t looking in that direction, wrong chemical make up, making it invisible to our detection.
Or, we could just suck at looking. ☹
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### Author:  [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/15 "2012-08-01T01:07:55Z")
“The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one - but still, they come!”
Actually I sort of doubt we’ll find anything, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to find anywhere on the planet.
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### Author:  [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/16 "2012-08-01T03:03:54Z")
There will be no real proof of life, and scientists will be in consensus that no life has been found…however…
there will be an anomolous measurement or reading that could be (mis)construed as evidence of life…and the press will pick it up with screaming headlines, ignoring most evidence to the contrary
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### Author:  [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curiosity-is-piqued-will-it-find-life/629972/17 "2012-08-01T03:04:28Z")
Nothing to add, I just had to show up in this thread.