Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Will Life Be Found On Mars? Your opinions and guesses:

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Donald — (archived)

David,

I doubt that we will find life on the surface of Mars. If its there, it will be either buried beneath the surface or in rare, well-protected micro-environments. And, I think the chances of finding extinct microbial life is probably better than the chances of finding extant microbial life.

Its not useful to draw comparisons with extreme environments here on earth with Mars. Even under the worst of circumstances, extreme terrestrial environments are part of a larger biosphere that is inherently hospitable to life.

On Mars, even the best of environments is worse than any extreme environment found here on earth, including the dry valleys of Antarctica. By the time you factor in the absence of atmosphere (less than one percent the density of earth's), the incredible dryness (on average about ten thousand times drier than the earth), the exposure to radiation, and the lack of chemical energy to power evolutionary processes, the prospect for finding life on Mars is pretty darn slim.

Still, hope springs eternal and we must continue the search. But I am not optimistic.

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