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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA urged to test for life on Mars

(CNN) -- More research is needed to determine whether potentially dangerous life forms exist on Mars before a manned mission to the Earth's nearest planetary neighbor can go ahead, a NASA advisory panel has warned.

The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), which was established to assist in the scientific planning of Marian exploration, said that astronauts could inadvertently carry microbial life back to Earth.

Alternatively, terrestrial microorganisms transported to Mars might pose a "forward contamination" risk to Martian life, the panel added.

More here: www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/06/23/mars.report/index.html?section=cnn_latest

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Good that some thought is put forward on the preservation of Martian life.

[Maddad]

The microbes we're likely to bring to Mars are areobic, meaning they use oxygen, and Mars is an anerobic environment, meaning that oxygen is missing. The bugs on Mars won't care what we bring them, and ours won't pay much attention to anything coming from there. Even though we do have some anaerobic microbes important to human health, such as food poisoning from Staphylococcus aureus toxins, anaerobic Martian microbes wouldn't interact with Earthly lifeforms.

The reason is that lifeforms evolve together over hundres of millions to billions of years. Anaerobic microbes especially evolve slowly. Any microbe is virulent, able to cause disease, because it has closely adapted to the current host environment and likes to eat the currently existing food supply. They would not thrive in the environment of their primitive ancestors because their biology would not be adapted to the biology of the ancient lifeforms.

In the same way, Martian microbes would not thrive with Earthly lifeforms. Since they would not find our critters tasty, they would not be virulent to us.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

All true, and factual...but life has this habit of adapting smartly for survival...at least here on Earth.

I think that, when discovered, life will share many commonalities all over the universe. Too many in fact, and the danger of cross-contanimation will be greater than we presently believe.

But we will see, and until then, I have my bug spray at the ready, and my copy of "The Andromeda Strain" for research...

[Centaur]

maddad said:

The microbes we're likely to bring to Mars are areobic, meaning they use oxygen, and Mars is an anerobic environment, meaning that oxygen is missing. The bugs on Mars won't care what we bring them, and ours won't pay much attention to anything coming from there. Even though we do have some anaerobic microbes important to human health, such as food poisoning from Staphylococcus aureus toxins, anaerobic Martian microbes wouldn't interact with Earthly lifeforms.

The reason is that lifeforms evolve together over hundres of millions to billions of years. Anaerobic microbes especially evolve slowly. Any microbe is virulent, able to cause disease, because it has closely adapted to the current host environment and likes to eat the currently existing food supply. They would not thrive in the environment of their primitive ancestors because their biology would not be adapted to the biology of the ancient lifeforms.

In the same way, Martian microbes would not thrive with Earthly lifeforms. Since they would not find our critters tasty, they would not be virulent to us.

What you state so well is likely correct. However, the potential risk if you are wrong is significant beyond measure. Even minimal prudence would require the most extreme caution.

[Maddad]

You're right on the button, Centaur.