Hopes and Dreams in Martian Dust
In the movie “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” there is a graphic scene toward the end of the picture where the bad guys open the Ark of the Covenant only to find . . . dust. Moments later, the fireworks begin as all of the nefarious Nazis are swept up in a fiery mess.
Well . . . with the latest NASA exploration of Mars, expect a lot of dust, and little or no fireworks. Landers have been sent to Mars before. In recent years, it seems that Mars exploration has ramped up a little bit. One example of this is the humorous and slightly ironic landing of the “Beagle 2.” The British rover, obviously named for the ship of
Interested or disinterested, here’s a link.
Mars is only interesting from a geological perspective, not a biological one. The planet is simply not suitable for life, even if you are a fan of Star Trek! Nevertheless, some scientists seem to be hopeful. That’s because many believe the genesis of life from lifeless matter is a foregone conclusion. Lately, two American “landers” are exploring the Martian landscape, and I have to admit they ARE very cool. But so far they’ve found, well . . . dust.
As we’ve always said, “Piles of bricks + millions/billions of years does not = life.” I’m sure we’ll be hearing oodles about Martian dust in the years to come. Maybe, just maybe, though, we’ll find some useful geologic information. Perhaps we can even apply all this Martian dust study to solving Global Warming on Mars and Earth! In the meantime, I’ll be wondering if there’s a Martian dust fan club we can all join?
Editor's Note: You can visit Chris at themuseandthescribe.com
The planet is simply not suitable for life, even if you are a fan of Star Trek!
Wrong. Life, the product of God, not happenstance, can exist just about anywhere. How many times have we heard scientists excitedly proclaiming to find life where it shouldn’t be?
Life in the antarctic where the temperatures are often more than a HUNDRED degrees below freezing…
Life on the bottom of the oceans, with no sunlight, and crushing pressure…
Fossils of living organisms inside meteorites…
We don’t know if God put life elsewhere, but given the diversity here on Earth, it’s crazy to say it can’t be on Mars. Mars has an atmosphere (full of CO2), water, and is warmer than Antarctica.
I’d say there’s an excellent chance for life. Maybe not the kind of life we can talk to, eat or see with the naked eye…
TR, you just touched on one of my most passionate revelations…”Maybe not the kind of life we can talk to, eat or see with the naked eye…”
I believe that there is much more around us that is not detectable with human senses. We “humans” are so utterly narcissistic, that we can never admit that we don’t “know” it all. To purport that our senses encompass the ability to “sense” everything in the universe gives us power (while the “shadow people” sit back and laugh). “Well, if I can’t see it, it’s not there.” Oh really, like the molecules of oxygen or nitrogen in the air? Some people just can’t fathom the complexity of logical reasoning and how we must apply it to everything!: “I can’t see, feel, taste, smell or hear an atom, but it’s there. So, what else can I not ’sense’”…just soak on that for a while.