Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Barry, you're missing the point

re: Barry, you're missing the point...no, I don't think so
BD — (archived)

Ed,

I think there is enough evidence to support that Mars once had a much more substantial atmosphere. It was probably the Hellas impact event that destroyed the climate. The remaining ozone in the Martian atmosphere has always been intriguing to me. Is it the remnant of some bygone biosphere?

The point is, a substantial ozone may have persisted for hundreds of thousands to millions of years after the impact, acting as a shield against UV radiation and as it declined, Martian microorganisms evolved and adapted to their changing environment. Life will find a way....

Very small amounts of iron and manganese are needed to shield microbes from intense UV. If micorbes can survive in the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor, why do you think they would have any problem under a few microns of dust?

BD

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