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Mars rover Curiosity sees key water indicator
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:46 pm |
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paulzolo
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:27 pm Posts: 12251
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I await the discovery of fossils with keen anticipation now. If they find simple organisms, that would be good. I’d really love it if they found evidence of a more complex creature, but I expect that’s just me wildly speculating. Current thought is that micro organisms would be the most prevalent form of life in the universe, so that is what is being looked for.
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:41 am |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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The fact that they have found clays means that water existed in large quantities on Mars, at some point but it the cooling of the core happened too soon for life to progress from the simplest unicellular life.
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:25 pm |
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JJW009
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:58 pm Posts: 8767 Location: behind the sofa
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If the rover had landed on Earth today, it might never have found fossils. Even if they are there, it's going to take one hell of a stroke of luck to find them near the surface.
_________________jonbwfc's law: "In any forum thread someone will, no matter what the subject, mention Firefly." When you're feeling too silly for x404, youRwired.net
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 2:07 pm |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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It would be hard to find intelligent life as well. 
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:32 pm |
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l3v1ck
What's a life?
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:21 am Posts: 12700 Location: The Right Side of the Pennines (metaphorically & geographically)
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The problem is that even if there was advanced life, you need the right atmosphere for them to have 'hard parts' that can easily be fossilised. That why we have very little from the pre-Cambrian even though Cambrian fossils are highly developed.
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:36 pm |
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paulzolo
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:27 pm Posts: 12251
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I was being mildly facetious about fossils, you know. However, while we can probably rule out the bones of dead creatures, they may find imprints of simpler life forms if they get very, very lucky.
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:55 pm |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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With soft bodied creatures the chance of being fossilised will be minimal to start with. Though they could be lucky because the martian surface has not been recycled like Earth down subduction zones.
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:23 pm |
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paulzolo
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:27 pm Posts: 12251
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Fossils can be the impressions left behind by an organism - not just the actual organism itself. Leaf imprints, for example.
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 7:26 pm |
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l3v1ck
What's a life?
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:21 am Posts: 12700 Location: The Right Side of the Pennines (metaphorically & geographically)
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They can be, but it's less common.
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Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:13 pm |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am Posts: 29240 Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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But for unicellular life it becomes very hard and there is only one rover on mars and thousands of palaeontologists here on earth looking for them. Though I suspect that they will find them first through the creation of molecules that can only come from lifeforms. That would be easier to detect.
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:38 am |
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