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[::..about this blog..::]
"...all these worlds..." is a blog by David Hitt. It covers space exploration, decent science fiction, humor (by its very nature), and whatever else I happen to find cool. (Formerly "You Must Fight The Bear")
Name: David Hitt About Me: Inspiring the next generation of explorers... See my complete profile
[::..disclaimer..::]
The opinions expressed on this page are those of the author, and very likely no one else.
[::..archive..::]
:: Friday, March 12, 2004 ::
Because Then The Terraformers Have Already Won
Universe Today has an article about the possibility of terraforming Mars one bit at a time, essentially using greenhouses to create habitable areas--a possibility which could be achievable long before planetwide terraforming would. It raises interesting questions about the search for life on Mars, though. With the speculation that there may be subsurface water on Mars, there's been accompanying speculation as to whether there might be subsurface life as well, or whether life might exist in the polar regions. The possibility has also been raised that even if there is no currently active life on Mars, there may well be dormant bacteria spores, which it has been theorized could "wake up" again after millions of years if conditions change. Many scientists have hoped to find evidence of past or current life on Mars because it would give us a new perspective on the universe, proving definitely that extraterrestrial life can and does exist. However, one has to wonder what such a discovery would mean for terraforming and/or colonizing Mars. Even if it were proved that any such microbial life that currently exists or may re-awaken under conditions hospitable to humans could coexist peacefully with Terran biology (which would be an interesting thing to go about proving), will there be discussions about how much right we have to alter their ecosystems?