Salty Water Flows on Mars Today, Boosting Odds for Life

[Scrumhalf]

Stupendous news! We are close, so close, to discovering extraterrestrial life.

Salty Water Flows on Mars Today, Boosting Odds for Life


Liquid water flows on Mars today, boosting the odds that life could exist on the Red Planet, a new study suggests.

The enigmatic dark streaks on Mars — called recurring slope lineae (RSL) — that appear seasonally on steep, relatively warm Martian slopes are likely caused by salty liquid water, researchers said.

"Liquid water is a key requirement for life on Earth," study lead author Lujendra Ojha, of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, told Space.com via email. "The presence of liquid water on Mars' present-day surface therefore points to environment[s] that are more habitable than previously thought."

[rado]

Saw that earlier, pretty cool...

[Bouncer]

Good stuff. What's in the water, just basic sea salt? Do we know how acidic it is etc? How likely is this waters ability to hold life?

[Scrumhalf]

I don't think they have actually done the measurements. What they have seen are streaks on the surface of the planet that are unmistakably associated with water. So, it is indirect evidence. But we know on earth that there is life in even the saltiest of brine, so there is a good chance that if there is water, there are at least microbes in it. But yeah, now we just need to get direct evidence. It's only a matter of time now, I think.

[Bouncer]

If there is life think it will be microorganisms or something bigger like tadpole sized? Probably very very unlikely that it will be anything bigger but who really knows. Regardless any sort of life on a planet other than our own will be amazing and confirm that life is actually common in the universe.

[Bouncer]

NASA doing an AMA on reddit right now.

They said we won't be able to send people till 2030. Bah

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/commen...nything_about/

[rado]

I'd live there and be willing not to comeback, fuck all you pussies:D I'm out..

[rado]

Good stuff. What's in the water, just basic sea salt? Do we know how acidic it is etc? How likely is this waters ability to hold life?

If there is life think it will be microorganisms or something bigger like tadpole sized? Probably very very unlikely that it will be anything bigger but who really knows. Regardless any sort of life on a planet other than our own will be amazing and confirm that life is actually common in the universe.

With such expertise you have, we should send you on your escape goat, give you $1K bill and ship your monkey ass over there:wave:

[Scrumhalf]

If there is life think it will be microorganisms or something bigger like tadpole sized? Probably very very unlikely that it will be anything bigger but who really knows. Regardless any sort of life on a planet other than our own will be amazing and confirm that life is actually common in the universe.

Probably going to be microorganisms. They are the ones that are extremophiles on Earth. Make no mistake, Mars is highly hostile to life. The atmostphere is very thin for starters. But most importantly, it does not have a strong enough magnetic field, so it is bombarded by charged particles that are deflected by Earth's magnetic field. Any multicellular organism owuld have to live deep underground to not get harmful levels of radiation. Single cell or simple organisms on the other hand seem to be able to sustain hostile conditions a lot better.

[Bouncer]

But who's to say life on Mars hasn't evolved to have some sort of natural shield against those charged particles? I get that its unlikely but we have been surprised by natures ability to adapt and evolve before.

[Scrumhalf]

Good article:

http://gizmodo.com/what-sorts-of-lif...ars-1733458742

[chuckz28]

I'm sure they are already planning on a rover mission to that spot. Could very interesting over the next few years.