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Fig. 8.29
Close-up of dark dune spots, probably created by cold geyser-like eruptions -
Mars Global Surveyor (
http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/m07_m12/maps/M08/M0804688.gif
-
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, October 19, 1999)
A multinational European team suggests that if liquid water is present in the
spiders' channels during their annual defrost cycle, they might provide a niche
where certain microscopic life forms could have retreated and adapted while
sheltered from solar radiation. A British team also considers the possibility that
organic matter, microbes, or even simple plants might coexist with these inorganic
formations, especially if the mechanism includes liquid water and a geothermal
energy source. However, they also remark that the majority of geological structures
may be accounted for without invoking any organic “life on Mars” hypothesis. It
has been proposed to develop the Mars Geyser Hopper lander to study the geysers
up close (Fig.
8.29
).
8.5.2
Forward Contamination: Planetary Protection
Planetary protection of Mars aims to prevent biological contamination of the planet.
A major goal is to preserve the planetary record of natural processes by preventing
human-caused microbial introductions, also called forward contamination. There is
abundant evidence as to what can happen when organisms from regions on Earth that
have been isolated from one another for significant periods of time are introduced
into each other's environment. Species that are constrained in one environment can
thrive - often out of control - in another environment much to the detriment of the
original species that were present. In some ways, this problem could be compounded
if life forms from one planet were introduced into the totally alien ecology of another
world.
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