Why search for life on Mars?

Question

NASA announced some months ago that they found evidence of the existence of water on the planet and therefore they think that life there is possible since water is essential for survival.

Given the facts on planet Mars:

Surface pressure: 0.7–0.9 kPa

(Compared to Earth's 101.3 kPa, its too low. One of the reasons astronauts wear specialiased suits is because if they go to space atmospheric pressure decreases on the way up and this would be similar to the case with Mars, so going there means we're going to have to wear special suits all the time?)

Atmospheric composition:

95.72% Carbon dioxide, 2.7% Nitrogen, 1.6% Argon, 0.2% Oxygen, 0.07% Carbon monoxide, 0.03% Water vapor, 0.01% Nitric oxide, 2.5 ppm Neon, 300 ppb Krypton, 130 ppb Formaldehyde, 80 ppb Xenon, 30 ppb Ozone, 10 ppb Methane.

( Very different from Earth's, only 0.2% oxygen?! Isn't that vital for life too? )

Mass: 6.4185×1023 kg (0.107 Earths) with surface gravity: 0.37 x Earth's.

( The lower mass of mars means less surface gravity, knowing that 9.8 m/s^2 is that of Earth's, how can we live (on) it? It's going to be like going to the moon, we'll float?! )

Mars's distance to sun is more that Earth's by around 59 million km and so the mean surface temperature on Mars is much lower than that of Earth's and is:

−46 °C

( Talk about global warming here?! Isn't temperature something to consider in a decision to search for life? That's freezing cold! )

Given also the difference in orbital periods, the intensity of the sun that reaches Mars, climate and seasons and all that...

Why is there even the slightest hope and all this research on Mars to try and find possible life?!

I know NASA must've went through all this information and taken all possible considerations but why moving on with such a research? What's the secret?

Or is it that we're not actually going to live on the planet itself but in some kind of containers near the planet?! Rofl ?

Seriously, I need an answer.

Thanks in advance.

Source(s): Wikipedia and a book :)

Answer 1

very thorough.

first of all, you should know that while finding life on Mars would be a great discovery, it really wasn't the point to Phoenix.  The lander was sent to determine if conditions favorable to life HAD existed on Mars.  In order to determine this we need a lot of data about the planet... its atmosphere, its soil, the existence of water...

We are NOT going to send men to Mars.  Forget it.  Don't listen to the 'proposed projects'.. there is just NO WAY that we will shake loose 100 BILLION dollars or more to do this.

if we did... (we won't, but if we DID) the gravity wouldn't be much of an issue... a man in a spacesuit would still weight about 100lbs relative, and that's ignoring the fact that he would still have the inertia of a man on Earth.  He might walk funny, but not a lot.

cold has never been an issue.  SURE, Mars is cold.  Heat is the problem;  a little insulation and you accumulate TOO MUCH heat.

air is a problem.  Bring it along or we really need to go to town converting CO2 to O2.  kinda hard to imagine.  Perhaps a greenhouse will go first.

you nailed it as to the likelihood of an astronaut finding something living.  Near Zero.

Still... would you rather buy a robot to Mars or a missile pointed at your house?  

Answer 2

There sure is a reason why the scientists are breakin' their heads for life on Mars. And that reason is that Mars is somewhat similar to the primitive earth. Earth also had plenty of CO2 and the surface temperatures were blazing. but now, its completely brimming with life.

speakin' of temperature, i think there is a lot of CO2 to insulate the heat and generally heat up mars.

But ofcourse, there are also enough evidence that mars cannot support life.

Answer 3

We are basically searching for answers to our own origins here on earth. Many believe that we are descendants of a race of beings not from this planet originally and would like to find out more. We are also a very curious being and the stars and planets have always intrigued us and called to us to explore. We should always know what is around us and be prepared in advance to handle any situations that may arise. We may also need to move away from this planet in the future and need the expertise that is being gathered now. Exploration is in our DNA and when it calls, we answer.

Answer 4

Part of an agenda to make you believe in 'aliens'. Get ready for a SETI signal, life and/or artifacts on Mars, and other similar things.

We are in the endtimes and you will have to decide whether to believe in the delusion of 'aliens' or God.

Later, ask yourself how we knew in advance:

2 Thessalonians 2:10-13

Answer 5

You are right it is a waste of time & money but I think there was once advance life on Mars many years ago, but now the planet is absolutely dead & void of life. We are really better off looking elsewhere if we want to colonize as Mars will never be suitable again. Also, I have to agree with the comments of the first 2 responses which make a lot of sense.

Cheers !

Answer 6

One of the most important aspects of determining if Mars had life in the past is to determine the potential of terraforming Mars to sustain a colony.

The secondary importance is to estimate the occurance of life in the universe and thereby determining how future travels may turn up.