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Thread: NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life?.

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    Exclamation NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life?.

    NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life?...

    ezgif-1-41fd403bb4.jpg

    NASA is planning its first-ever mission to bring dirt and rocks from Mars back to Earth — but before that momentous event happens, the space agency needs to figure out exactly how to protect our home planet from any alien microbes that might hitch a ride. This week, the agency is holding public meetings and looking for feedback on its plan to land a spacecraft carrying Martian specimens at a U.S. Air Force testing range in Utah in the early 2030s.


    "Maybe this is the most important environmental assessment that humans have ever done," says Peter Doran, a geologist at Louisiana State University who studies life in extreme environments. "I think that it's a very low probability that there's anything living at the surface of Mars," says Doran, who also serves on an international committee devoted to planetary protection. "But there is a possibility."


    Having a rock sample from Mars here on Earth would let scientists run exhaustive lab tests to look for evidence of whether this cold, harsh, rocky world was once habitable and maybe even inhabited.


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    https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/10956...ntain-alien-li
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    I thought they had plans. But based on the article, I guess not.

    We should be able to quarantine samples in a Level 4 lab and test them.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life?...

    Attachment 48890

    NASA is planning its first-ever mission to bring dirt and rocks from Mars back to Earth — but before that momentous event happens, the space agency needs to figure out exactly how to protect our home planet from any alien microbes that might hitch a ride. This week, the agency is holding public meetings and looking for feedback on its plan to land a spacecraft carrying Martian specimens at a U.S. Air Force testing range in Utah in the early 2030s.


    "Maybe this is the most important environmental assessment that humans have ever done," says Peter Doran, a geologist at Louisiana State University who studies life in extreme environments. "I think that it's a very low probability that there's anything living at the surface of Mars," says Doran, who also serves on an international committee devoted to planetary protection. "But there is a possibility."


    Having a rock sample from Mars here on Earth would let scientists run exhaustive lab tests to look for evidence of whether this cold, harsh, rocky world was once habitable and maybe even inhabited.


    Attachment 48891


    Attachment 48892


    Attachment 48893


    Attachment 48894


    https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/10956...ntain-alien-li


    Can you imagine the potential lockdown on this one? In all seriousness it's an interesting question given the dormant states microbes are capable of. Why not study them in a lab in space?

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    Quote Originally Posted by donttread View Post
    Can you imagine the potential lockdown on this one? In all seriousness it's an interesting question given the dormant states microbes are capable of. Why not study them in a lab in space?
    Good point.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life?...

    Attachment 48890

    NASA is planning its first-ever mission to bring dirt and rocks from Mars back to Earth — but before that momentous event happens, the space agency needs to figure out exactly how to protect our home planet from any alien microbes that might hitch a ride. This week, the agency is holding public meetings and looking for feedback on its plan to land a spacecraft carrying Martian specimens at a U.S. Air Force testing range in Utah in the early 2030s.


    "Maybe this is the most important environmental assessment that humans have ever done," says Peter Doran, a geologist at Louisiana State University who studies life in extreme environments. "I think that it's a very low probability that there's anything living at the surface of Mars," says Doran, who also serves on an international committee devoted to planetary protection. "But there is a possibility."


    Having a rock sample from Mars here on Earth would let scientists run exhaustive lab tests to look for evidence of whether this cold, harsh, rocky world was once habitable and maybe even inhabited.


    Attachment 48891


    Attachment 48892


    Attachment 48893


    Attachment 48894


    https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/10956...ntain-alien-li
    Was that not a concern when moon rocks, dust or dirt were brought back ??

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    I thought they had plans. But based on the article, I guess not.

    We should be able to quarantine samples in a Level 4 lab and test them.



    Shades of "The Andromeda Strain," great book and movie based on actual concerns about deadly microbes from space.


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    The Blob!
    Devotion to the truth is the hallmark of morality; there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking.”
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    Quote Originally Posted by OLD GUY IN FLORIDA View Post
    The Blob!
    Steve McQueen handled that with headlights, no worries.

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    Quote Originally Posted by donttread View Post
    Can you imagine the potential lockdown on this one? In all seriousness it's an interesting question given the dormant states microbes are capable of. Why not study them in a lab in space?
    Probably the best idea.
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    Quote Originally Posted by donttread View Post
    Can you imagine the potential lockdown on this one? In all seriousness it's an interesting question given the dormant states microbes are capable of. Why not study them in a lab in space?
    Reminded me of the Alien movies.
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