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Water on mars
You might have already heard about it in the news. Lately Nasa made the announcement that they had found strong evidence of flowing water on Mars. What they found was that certain dark streaks had been formed while photographing the same area over a couple of years. These streaks are made out of hydrated salts which flow in the hot season and ebb in the cold season. The water is not water as we know it, but it is briny water. In other words, very salty water.
What does this mean though, finding flowing water on Mars? In the present moment we see liquid water as one of the building blocks required for life. Since there has now been found liquid water on Mars, the main question that rises is; Is there also life on Mars? The first reaction I had was that we should send a rover to the area where the water has been discovered to find out! Point is, we cannot.
We cannot do this because of certain rather ironic regulations. These regulations tell us that areas on other planets where liquid water has been found no direct contact can be made to prevent possible contamination with Earth life. This is because the spacecraft that got the rovers to Mars may have brought along some earthly microbes. The procedures necessary to prevent this are not yet applicable to the present day spacecraft.
But how long do we wait before a certain innovation allows us to achieve these procedures? Perhaps it will take another twenty years before we can actually send something there that can analyse these areas and give us the answer to the question whether there is life on Mars. I am asking myself the question whether it is worth the wait.
When life is found on Mars, researchers will have their hands full for the coming time on revising so much theories. For example how life on Earth originated, perhaps we ourselves are Martians after all. These are questions that have the possibilities of changing humanity as a whole. We should not wait with trying to get answers for this. Of course, when one wrong contact would compromise the entire Martian ecosystem, precautions should be made.
Currently there a lot of regulations regarding extra-terrestrial research. I believe these should be revised with the current announcements about water on Mars. They should be revised because this research could provide key insights into questions that might define life on Earth itself.
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