# Life on Mars! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 22, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523 "2009-01-22T21:36:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/1 "2009-01-22T21:36:27Z")
Well…maybe. Was reading [this](http://science.discovery.com/stories/week/life-on-mars.html) article on The Science Channel’s web site and thought it might be an interesting debate. Seems fairly conclusive evidence that there is something going on there…but what? And would it be worthwhile to (in these trying economic times, blah blah blah) to redouble our exploration efforts, either manned or unmanned, to seek the answers. How important is the question of life on other planets? Some quotes from the cite: > [@](#): > > Are Methane Plumes a Sign of Life on Mars? > > NASA researchers have discovered vast clouds of methane on Mars. The find triggered speculation that the gas is being produced by microbial life forms on the Red Planet, though geologic processes might also be the source. > > A news release on NASA’s web site details the findings, which are based on observations by the agency’s NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and the W.M. Keck observatory, both in Hawaii. > > NASA scientists say the discovery indicates that Mars is still alive, either in a biological or geological sense. > > “Methane is quickly destroyed in the Martian atmosphere in a variety of ways, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 indicates some ongoing process is releasing the gas,” says NASA astrobiologist Michael Mumma “At northern mid-summer, methane is released at a rate comparable to that of the massive hydrocarbon seep at Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, Calif.” What say you 'dopers? Is it important? Is it conclusive? Is it worth further exploration? -XT ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/2 "2009-01-22T21:44:20Z")
Dunno; but I wouldn’t want to have to bet that there is NO possible non-organic source for the methane. I’d love for there to be life on Mars, but in my old age, I’ve come to agree with the cynical saying, “The possibility of life existing on another planet is inversely proportional to our knowledge about that planet.” ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/3 "2009-01-22T21:45:19Z")
Farting Martians! OK, I don’t know. But I’m really hoping. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/4 "2009-01-22T22:03:46Z")
The methane emanations have been confusing/exciting scientists for quite some time. There are possible natural explanations, but as far as I know even those aren’t really compatible with our current understanding of Martian geology. So either way, it’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/5 "2009-01-22T22:09:19Z")
So how to [determine](http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/articles/making-sense-of-mars-methane/) if it is from a biologic or a geologic process? > [@](#): > > Methane, composed of one carbon and four hydrogen atoms, attracts a lot of attention from astrobiologists “because it is a key biomarker,” says Bebout. “But methane can be produced by non-biological means, so when you see it in the atmosphere of a planet, biology was not necessarily involved, and that’s why we want to know about isotopes.” > > Isotopes are key to understanding the origin of methane because organisms tend to use more of the lighter isotopes. Biogenic methane usually – but not always – contains a higher percentage of the lighter carbon-12 than non-biogenic methane, which contains relatively more of the heavier carbon-13. The two types of carbon atoms both have the same number of protons, but carbon-13 has one more neutron than carbon-12. > > Isotopic measurements of the carbon in martian methane are a goal of the tunable laser spectrometer on NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory, a rover now scheduled for launch in Fall 2009. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/6 "2009-01-22T22:09:28Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > There are possible natural explanations 😕 You must mean “explanations involving geological/inorganic sources”, right? Surely, even if the Mars methane sources were organic/biological, there’s no reason to think there’d be anything supernatural about them. Or, if that’s not so, tell us more! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/7 "2009-01-22T22:27:17Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > What say you 'dopers? Is it important? Is it conclusive? Is it worth further exploration? > -XT Sure, it’s somewhat exciting, but…that’s the 47th time or so that we hear about some hint that there might be life on Mars, so I’m not going to hold my breath. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/8 "2009-01-22T22:58:12Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 You must mean “explanations involving geological/inorganic sources”, right? Surely, even if the Mars methane sources were organic/biological, there’s no reason to think there’d be anything supernatural about them. > > Or, if that’s not so, tell us more! Oh, you know what I meant. Explanations that don’t require the existence of life, okay? ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/9 "2009-01-22T23:22:41Z")
So lets be optimistic and say that the methane is indeed some form of life on mars. After we bask in the amazing and wonderful knowledge that life exists outside of our planet, then what? Since it clearly isn’t anywhere near **sentient** life, what would the next step be? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/10 "2009-01-22T23:25:26Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > Since it clearly isn’t anywhere near **sentient** life, what would the next step be? Let’s go get some samples of it, and see if we can use it to produce interesting new alcoholic beverages and the like. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/11 "2009-01-22T23:27:27Z")
So that’s what happened to Sam. Wait… are you talking about the original BBC mission or the US attempt? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/12 "2009-01-22T23:27:28Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I’m not going to hold my breath. You would if you were anywhere near the methane source. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/13 "2009-01-22T23:28:31Z")
The Bad Astronomer thinks to much is being made of this. [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/19/mars-methane-media-mess/](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/01/19/mars-methane-media-mess/) (couldn’t get the hyperlink to work) > [@](#): > > It might be geological, it might be chemical, it might be biological. We don’t know which. > > That didn’t stop some of the media from totally exaggerating the article to the point of irresponsible journalism. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/14 "2009-01-22T23:51:51Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > Explanations that don’t require the existence of life, okay? Thanks. I wasn’t yanking your chain, btw, I did think there was a possibility that you were referring to some findings unknown to me about Mars methane that weren’t explained by the currently known laws of physics. But “supernatural” wasn’t the best way of describing that, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/15 "2009-01-23T00:27:34Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > What say you 'dopers? Is it conclusive? Obviously not, but I firmly believe it’s only a matter of time. If there’s no life on Mars, there was. And surely there will be (meaning us, eventually.) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/16 "2009-01-23T00:58:22Z")
21,000 Tons of Methane sounds like alot. IIRC the numbers from the article. But over a WHOLE planet? Thats VERY VERY little. I am sure there are plenty of non-biologic mechanisms that could account for it, particularly at such low levels. Don’t get me wrong though, I am rooting for martians every step of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Rolken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@Rolken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rolken)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/17 "2009-01-23T03:38:29Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Sure, it’s somewhat exciting, but…that’s the 47th time or so that we hear about some hint that there might be life on Mars, so I’m not going to hold my breath. The trouble is that science operates slowly and methodically. The media generally don’t understand the process, and it doesn’t jibe well with the punchy headline method of reporting. It’s a long road to obtaining conclusive evidence on something like this, but since the perception of the jackpot at the end is the most sensational, that’s what always gets the focus and it grows stale. The romantic “eureka” moments of sudden advance don’t actually happen that much; it’s more often a progression from “what is that?” to “could it be this?” to “I think that’s right” to “yeah that’s gotta be it”. And of course, there’s the possibility for a concept to derail at every step of the way. So it’s entirely natural for science reporting to seem to consist of the same stuff and/or contradictory stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/18 "2009-01-23T03:49:52Z")
Even if we find fossilized life all that does is lead to three questions 1. Did life evolve on Mars and get transported to Earth, where it took off 2. Did life evolve on Earth and get transported to Mars were it died 3. Did life evolve on Earth and Mars seperately The only real exciting choice is #3 because if it can happen seperately in two places why not three or four or five or well you get the idea ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/19 "2009-01-23T03:53:56Z")
Actually, the concept of “if it can happen in one place, why not two or three or four or well, you get the idea” is just as exciting. And I consider 3) to be by far the most likely. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523/20 "2009-01-23T03:55:56Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > Since it clearly isn’t anywhere near **sentient** life, what would the next step be? Let’s beat 'em up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-mars/482523.md?page=2)