Why is water so important to Mars?

[JohnsonBox]

Okay, water is the life line of any kind of lives on our planet. If we launched manned space flight to Mars, we will not need to carry water with us to there, because Mars has waters, with which in future immigrating to Mars is possible, at least we can create space station there. Bush has expreesed that he wants to cooperate with China in his space plan. What do you think about Mars water? If you were interested in the Bush space plan, just comment it.

--JB

Europe probe detects Mars water ice

Friday, January 23, 2004 Posted: 7:22 AM EST (1222 GMT)

CNN) -- The European orbiter Mars Express detected ice at the Red Planet's south pole, mission officials at Darmstadt, Germany, said Friday.

NASA's Mars Odyssey, also an orbiter, confirmed water ice at the north pole, along with dry ice -- frozen carbon dioxide -- in 2002. It picked up signs of hydrogen at the south pole, the first indication that water ice might be found there.

Mars Express confirmed Odyssey's suspicions about the south pole.

"We have already identified water vapor in the atmosphere," scientist Vittorio Formisano said. "We have identified water ice on the soil on the south polar caps."

Mars Express headed off for the fourth planet on June 2 specifically to look for water. It carried with it the European Space Agency's rover, Beagle 2, but that craft was never heard from after its expected Dec. 25 landing.

Express, however, attained its final operational orbit in the last week and has continued its scientific mission. Express made an unsuccessful attempt to contact Beagle 2 earlier this month when it passed near the rover's landing site.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/01/23/m....ice/index.html

[poind]

Not sure I totally understand the issue posed here.

Water in any form on Mars is significant for two reasons:

(1) It's a sign that life may have reasonably previously existed on Mars, even in bacterial form at the least, and somewhat justifies future explorations.

(2) It's a sign that future life may have ability to exist on Mars, even if it's just having Martian water sources available for stuff.

Don't know that Bush's "space plan" is terribly thought through, but would ideally like to see international cooperation in some areas of space exploration. Do not believe there's pressing need for Mars or moon bases and such -- if anything, there are some Earth issues that really need resolution first. Bases on the moon and Mars and so on matter very little if humans can't reasonably, stably, "get along".

Anyway, ultimately, think it would be most significant for humanity as a whole if there could indeed be any form of, say, joint U.S./China space mission, Martian water-related or not.

[Dave Veteran]

Water would also allow for the easy "creation" of oxygen where it was found. Personally I've always been fond of O2 myself.

[Laughing-Man]

So we can bottle it up and sell it as Martian Spring Water? :rofl:

In all seriousness there is the possiblity that microscopic lifeforms could be frozen in the ice, which would signify that there is life on mars.

[Toxikk Veteran]

i want to be the first man on mars.

[Laughing-Man]

i want to be the first man on mars.

I believe Al Gore has already made that claim. How can you disprove the man who has invented the internet? He is a modern day Da Vinci.

[Joel]

Water would also allow for the easy "creation" of oxygen where it was found. Personally I've always been fond of O2 myself.

I prefer air, O2 alone makes me feel funny. :p

[TranceSphere]

Terraforming

There was a program on BBC2 about a week ago, it was about terraforming mars.

And now that they know there is large amounts of dry ice, it can be done (but it will take 100's of years) :/

[Aaron Veteran]

I have always wondered this: Just because water is critical for life on Earth, why do we assume it is true universally?

[Laughing-Man]

I have always wondered this: Just because water is critical for life on Earth, why do we assume it is true universally?

You make a good point. There could be a spieces that does not need water to live. :yes:

[Dave Veteran]

I prefer air, O2 alone makes me feel funny.

It makes me feel funny too, me too....

As for why there needs to be water for life to exist.

Here is my (admittedly limited) understanding of it.

There are two types of life, carbon based (earth type life forms) and silicon based (an as yet unseen or unrecognized form). Carbon life requires water to exist, and silicon life is hard to identify because it would most likely look like just some crystal deposits and takes hundreds years to develop once created.

So finding carbon based would be the easier of the two to find, especially considering the short life spans of people and their probes that are sent to other planets. Then again I could be way off. I'm no biochemist and certainly not a biochemical theorist.

[Sub]

To sum this question up:

The reason they are looking for water on mars is because of this:

They have already done multiple tests on the soil in mars. With more work, and with the exsistence of water, then can hopefully some day bring O2 producing bacteria and molds, which hopefully someday create a stable atmosphere on mars. With soil tests, then can find out what plants will grow on mars.

Without water, there is nothing that can be done. WAter is the main ingredent in life. Without it, its a dusty dry planet.

[Hum]

:rolleyes: We are there on Mars to find water and proof of Life beyond our world, with in a way is rather silly. There's no doubt (except to maybe Science) that there is other Life out there besides us Humans and animals. I'm not sure it's all that interesting if we only find some simple bacteria on Mars.

What NASA and other science people don't point out, is, all the water and atmosphere we could create on Mars will not solve the radiation problem. Mars has no protection, and living there may only be remotely possible by going underground. Don't know how Science is going to give Mars a magnetic field to protect plants and other Life from radiation. Taming planets is a long, long way off.

[JohnsonBox]

If there were enough water, ozone can be produced too. And the ozone layer will absorb solar ultraviolet radiation in a wavelength range not screened by other atmospheric components. After that done, forest to be created on Mars is expected; and then, animals will be tested to try to live in the forest... and finally, humans immigration to Mars is also possible.

[poind]

I have always wondered this:  Just because water is critical for life on Earth, why do we assume it is true universally?

For better or worse, humans tend to seek carbon-based life-forms, and even have some fairly limited definitions as to what constitutes the patterns labelled as "life" at that.

Things we'd deem as life can even be found at deep-sea sulfur vents, with life "basis" and requirements markedly different from normal conception.

Anyway, water's necessary for anything that would be deemed comparable to what's defined as "life" on earth. One can certainly get into possibly defining, say, supernovas as life, let alone other "beings" that don't require water and such.

Yes, I personally consider it a bit limited thinking that water is viewed as virtually an absolute when it comes to "life", just because it's essentially an absolute on Earth for any animal or vegetable.