Comments on: Should Mars be treated like a wildlife preserve? http://futurismic.com/2009/02/15/should-mars-be-treated-like-a-wildlife-preserve/ Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:03:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Sterling Camden http://futurismic.com/2009/02/15/should-mars-be-treated-like-a-wildlife-preserve/comment-page-1/#comment-19294 Sterling Camden Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:38:52 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=6124#comment-19294 I think our presence there is bound to change some things for good, no matter how clean we try to be. We will probably regret that -- in retrospect. In the mean time, I for one think colonization will become a more important priority. I think our presence there is bound to change some things for good, no matter how clean we try to be. We will probably regret that — in retrospect. In the mean time, I for one think colonization will become a more important priority.

]]> By: Sarah Ennals http://futurismic.com/2009/02/15/should-mars-be-treated-like-a-wildlife-preserve/comment-page-1/#comment-19270 Sarah Ennals Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:56:14 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=6124#comment-19270 How long would we have to *not* find evidence of life on Mars to conclude that there is none? As with Saddam Hussein's WMDs, one side could always claim we just hadn't found the evidence *yet*; and Mars is a much bigger place than Iraq. I imagine the question would ultimately be decided based on politics. How long would we have to *not* find evidence of life on Mars to conclude that there is none? As with Saddam Hussein’s WMDs, one side could always claim we just hadn’t found the evidence *yet*; and Mars is a much bigger place than Iraq. I imagine the question would ultimately be decided based on politics.

]]> By: Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers) http://futurismic.com/2009/02/15/should-mars-be-treated-like-a-wildlife-preserve/comment-page-1/#comment-19244 Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers) Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:34:39 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=6124#comment-19244 As I understand it, the Viking series of landers were all built in class 100K clean rooms, and then sterilized on completion. The intent was to prevent, as much as possible, the chance of Earth microbiota being carried to Mars. I don't know what steps were taken on later lander missions, but I would be surprised if no attempt was made to prevent what's called "forward contamination" of Mars. There are draft international agreements that specify the steps to be taken in this regard, but I'm not aware of the status of their ratification by individual states. In other words, most of the people who work on the probes that go to Mars are well aware of the problem, and there are efforts to get every space-going nation to adhere to reasonable solutions. Whether that translates to all the current probes having been carefully enough sterilized, and all future probes to be sterilized, is quite another question. As I understand it, the Viking series of landers were all built in class 100K clean rooms, and then sterilized on completion. The intent was to prevent, as much as possible, the chance of Earth microbiota being carried to Mars. I don’t know what steps were taken on later lander missions, but I would be surprised if no attempt was made to prevent what’s called “forward contamination” of Mars. There are draft international agreements that specify the steps to be taken in this regard, but I’m not aware of the status of their ratification by individual states.

In other words, most of the people who work on the probes that go to Mars are well aware of the problem, and there are efforts to get every space-going nation to adhere to reasonable solutions. Whether that translates to all the current probes having been carefully enough sterilized, and all future probes to be sterilized, is quite another question.

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