[FPSPACE] Discovery reveals Mars is not a dead planet

[Kosmos327 at aol.com]

Fascinating and informative thread, Gents. I just want to jump in for a  
quick comment...
 
Jens said:
 
As this thread is all about the consequences of Martian  microbial life, I 
think Earthlings would be more than willing to pay for  voluntary human 
guinea-pigs testing out the dangers of life out  there.
 
I don't think this will happen due to the  potential for extremely negative 
consequences being substantially greater than a  positive outcome. 
 
If the first crew should contract a fatal illness,  it would be a LONG time 
before any future crew would be sent. We would have to  be able to determine 
the exact cause of the illness or  contamination remotely, and if it appeared to 
be Mars related, find a  definitive immunity or shield before any more humans 
would be sent. And  even when the next crew is finally sent, it would 
probably be a lower  primate species. 
 
I think that if evidence of any form of living  organism is determined to 
exist on Mars, we would have to know everything about  it, it's cousins, distant 
relatives, territorial strains, etc, etc. Whatever it  might be, it would have 
it's own origin and evolutionary  off-shoots.
 
My two-cents.
 
David L. Rickman
 
P. S. Ed, Man and  Impact in the Americas was very well received by Night  
Wolf. He is greatly appreciative. Thank you.
**************Inauguration '09: Get complete coverage from the nation's 
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