Theories on why Venus and Mars aren't inhabited by similar life forms?

[Eastoff]

Why hasn't "life" arisen on these other planets? Evolution would seem to state that species will be evolved based on the conditions of the surroundings, and the strongest of these genetic changes will survive as long as possible. There are fish on Earth that live in what are basically oxygen-free environments, and with literally thousands of pounds of water pressure. Why can that evolve on earth, yet nothing on our neighboring planets? That's another thing I've always wondered. The stock answer is that the other planets don't have the same conditions as Earth, yet that doesn't make sense, in terms of true universal life. If inorganic matter can evolve into organic matter, shouldn't that happen on all planets? Or, are we just all lucky we live on the one planet we know of that has conditions perfect to sustain life as we know it.

I'd be happy to explain further. We need* certain organic molecules to survive or for life to arise, as far as we know. Those organic molecules break down under high radiation. That high radiation occurs on the other two planets at the surface, but not at our surface. There are also other molecules that form which are not as stable on our surface. It's like a natural selection for non living things. Pretty amazing, and it improves the odds of life happening here!

 

[Cryptkeeper]

Venus has many toxic gasses and is too close to the sun. surface temperatures exceed 200 degrees. Mars is a bit too far from the sun and has a weak atmosphere.

There is actually a very, very thin area in our solar system that can sustain human life, and that area is where our Earth orbits. If we were about 1000 miles closer or farther from the sun than we are now, we might not even be here.

 

[Eastoff]

Venus has many toxic gasses and is too close to the sun. surface temperatures exceed 200 degrees. Mars is a bit too far from the sun and has a weak atmosphere.

There is actually a very, very thin area in our solar system that can sustain human life, and that area is where our Earth orbits. If we were about 1000 miles closer or farther from the sun than we are now, we might not even be here.

Mars at one time, probably would have sustained life. It might look like Hoth from star wars, but it should have been habitable.

 

[Cryptkeeper]

Mars at one time, probably would have sustained life. It might look like Hoth from star wars, but it should have been habitable.

It was, at one point, but that was millions of years ago.

 

[Eastoff]

It was, at one point, but that was millions of years ago.

a million years is less than a percent compared to the age of the planet though!

 

[Cryptkeeper]

a million years is less than a percent compared to the age of the planet though!

millionS, as in hundreds of millions.

 

[Eastoff]

millionS, as in hundreds of millions.

Comparing Hundreds of millions to millions is like saying, the Blazers have wins, hundreds of wins. Very poorly written. Also I got tired of going off your hearsay, and I looked it up.
http://www.space.com/22013-mars-atmosphere-curiosity-rover-meteorites.html this says 4 billion years ago.

 

[PapaG]

I'd be happy to explain further. We needs certain organic molecules to survive or for life to arise, as far as we know. Those organic molecules break down under high radiation. That high radiation occurs on the other two planets at the surface, but not at our surface. There are also other molecules that form which are not as stable on our surface. It's like a natural selection for non living things. Pretty amazing, and it improves the odds of life happening here!

Yes, "we." Isn't it possible that on other planets, evolution could have yielded lifeforms that could live in environments completely different than earth?

 

[PapaG]

Venus has many toxic gasses and is too close to the sun. surface temperatures exceed 200 degrees. Mars is a bit too far from the sun and has a weak atmosphere.

There is actually a very, very thin area in our solar system that can sustain human life, and that area is where our Earth orbits. If we were about 1000 miles closer or farther from the sun than we are now, we might not even be here.

It seems rather presumptuous to feel that our lifeforms, as evolved on this planet, should be the baseline for life on other planets, and for the universe in general.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I wouldn't be surprised if there was, at one time, life on Mars.

It'd be fascinating to see what martian fossils look like and if DNA could be extracted.

 

[Natebishop3]

It'd be fascinating to see what martian fossils look like and if DNA could be extracted.

I really wish we could visit Mars just to look around. If there really was water on Mars at one time, there had to be some kind of life, right?

 

[magnifier661]

I really wish we could visit Mars just to look around. If there really was water on Mars at one time, there had to be some kind of life, right?

100% accurate. There is a challenge though. Fossils aren't from the carbon counterparts. It's the residual of non organic components, like bones etc. So let's say only bacteria or single cell life existed, it would be hard to discover since there are no non organic complex parts to those organisms.

But if there are little green men that walked around, then they could be discovered through fossilization.

 

[Cryptkeeper]

It seems rather presumptuous to feel that our lifeforms, as evolved on this planet, should be the baseline for life on other planets, and for the universe in general.

I didn't mean that. I'm using humanity as an example. I know there are microscopic life forms that are able to live elsewhere, but i had thought we were discussing life forms similar to humanity.

 

[jlprk]

So, it's just chance that we inhabit the one planet that we know of that can sustain organic life? Think of those odds!

1 out of 8. Based on our only experience. Our solar system has 8 planets. 1/8 doesn't back up religion's saying, what a coincidence that Earth has conditions which are nearly impossible to attain.

Venus has many toxic gasses and is too close to the sun. surface temperatures exceed 200 degrees. Mars is a bit too far from the sun and has a weak atmosphere. There is actually a very, very thin area in our solar system that can sustain human life, and that area is where our Earth orbits. If we were about 1000 miles closer or farther from the sun than we are now, we might not even be here.

Not 1000. More like 15 million. Out of 93 million miles, which is the Sun to Earth distance.

 

[Denny Crane]

I'd be happy to explain further. We needs certain organic molecules to survive or for life to arise, as far as we know. Those organic molecules break down under high radiation. That high radiation occurs on the other two planets at the surface, but not at our surface. There are also other molecules that form which are not as stable on our surface. It's like a natural selection for non living things. Pretty amazing, and it improves the odds of life happening here!

Even Earth isn't that hospitable, really. The reason we grow old and die is because our cells are damaged by radiation, and over time our bodies can't keep up with repairing the damage.

 

[magnifier661]

Even Earth isn't that hospitable, really. The reason we grow old and die is because our cells are damaged by radiation, and over time our bodies can't keep up with repairing the damage.

Interesting... So if we found a way to block all radiation, we could live forever?

 

[Denny Crane]

Interesting... So if we found a way to block all radiation, we could live forever?

Or how to get our cells to repair the damage faster.

The thing is the radiation actually fucks up our DNA, too. I'm not sure how easy it is to repair that.

 

[PapaG]

I really wish we could visit Mars just to look around. If there really was water on Mars at one time, there had to be some kind of life, right?

Why would there have to be? Perhaps life on Mars evolved to thrive on ammonia, or iron, or wasn't even carbon-based. Evolutionary theory is a very narrow view on how life applies to the rest of the universe. On earth, oxygen and hydrogen were needed. Why would that be the same on another planet? If living organisms evolved from inorganic elements and/or substances, couldn't a completely different form of life have evolved in other environments that are nothing like what is found on earth?

 

[magnifier661]

Or how to get our cells to repair the damage faster.

The thing is the radiation actually fucks up our DNA, too. I'm not sure how easy it is to repair that.

Yeah the information in a single DNA has more information than a super computer. And like any type of program, a slight change can wreck the lot.

It's a curious option nonetheless

 

[Denny Crane]

Yeah the information in a single DNA has more information than a super computer. And like any type of program, a slight change can wreck the lot.

It's a curious option nonetheless

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-radical_theory_of_aging

 

[PapaG]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-radical_theory_of_aging

Oh, a wiki link. :MARIS61:

I'm still wondering why so many seem to think that "life" can only exist in the conditions in which ours exists on Earth. That seems almost "God-like," IMO, in thinking that life here is the template, and other planets need conditions such as Earth's in order to see organic life.

 

[Natebishop3]

Why would there have to be? Perhaps life on Mars evolved to thrive on ammonia, or iron, or wasn't even carbon-based. Evolutionary theory is a very narrow view on how life applies to the rest of the universe. On earth, oxygen and hydrogen were needed. Why would that be the same on another planet? If living organisms evolved from inorganic elements and/or substances, couldn't a completely different form of life have evolved in other environments that are nothing like what is found on earth?

So many organisms live in water though. Hell, much of the human body is made up of water. I'm just saying, if there was water on Mars, it would lead me to believe that there was probably some kind of life.

 

[riverman]

Neither planet has enough nightlife to sustain a population for long. Small market planets at best. There could very well be life there that our earthly senses are just unable to comprehend.

 

[Eastoff]

Yes, "we." Isn't it possible that on other planets, evolution could have yielded lifeforms that could live in environments completely different than earth?

As far as we know, this is the only way life can work. So everything else is very speculative. (Which seems against your staunch agnostic nature. Not pointing fingers, I just find it interesting.)

 

[Eastoff]

Oh, a wiki link. :MARIS61:

I'm still wondering why so many seem to think that "life" can only exist in the conditions in which ours exists on Earth. That seems almost "God-like," IMO, in thinking that life here is the template, and other planets need conditions such as Earth's in order to see organic life.

Hey, sorry I was away for a long time. I have to actually work somedays! BOO!

Anyway, the answer to your question is chemistry! Water is a great solvent, one of the best solvents we've found. It seems to aid in the transportation and exchange of other chemicals. It's also "easy" to break down into it's components to gain more energy. Carbon is so awesome for us because it is charge neutral, and has the maximum available bonding sites.

 

[Further]

Hey, sorry I was away for a long time. I have to actually work somedays! BOO!

Anyway, the answer to your question is chemistry! Water is a great solvent, one of the best solvents we've found. It seems to aid in the transportation and exchange of other chemicals. It's also "easy" to break down into it's components to gain more energy. Carbon is so awesome for us because it is charge neutral, and has the maximum available bonding sites.

I've heard people theorize that silicon based life could also be out there, many of the same properties as carbon, but we just have never seen it.




Also, interestingly we just discovered the smallest goldilocks planet we have found yet, and I was surprised to learn that it was still about 1.3 times the size of earth.

 

[Denny Crane]

I've heard people theorize that silicone based life could also be out there, many of the same properties as carbon, but we just have never seen it.




Also, interestingly we just discovered the smallest goldilocks planet we have found yet, and I was surprised to learn that it was still about 1.3 times the size of earth.

http://www.universetoday.com/91449/...-than-us-thoughts-on-non-carbon-astrobiology/

Dorminey — SILICON SEEMS TO BE THE MOST POPULAR NON-CARBON BASED CANDIDATE, ARE THERE OTHERS THAT ALSO MIGHT BE FEASIBLE?

Bernstein — It’s hard to imagine anything that would be more likely that silicon because there is nothing closer to carbon than silicon in terms of its chemistry. It’s in the right place on the periodic table, just below carbon. On the face of it, [silicon-based life] doesn’t seem too absurd since silicon, like carbon, forms four bonds. CH4 is methane and SiH4 is silane. They are analogous molecules so the basic idea is that perhaps silicon could form an entire parallel chemistry, and even life. But there are tons of problems with this idea. We don’t see a complex stable chemistry [solely] of silicon and hydrogen, as we see with carbon and hydrogen. We use hydrocarbon chains in our lipids (molecules that make up membranes), but the analogous silane chains would not be stable. Whereas carbon-oxygen bonds can be made and unmade — this goes on in our bodies all the time — this is not true for silicon. This would severely limit silicon’s life-like chemistry. Maybe you could have something silicon-based that’s sort of alive, but only in the sense that it passes on information.

 

[jlprk]

Bullshit. Everyone here is wrong.

 

[jlprk]

Neither planet has enough nightlife to sustain a population for long. Small market planets at best. There could very well be life there that our earthly senses are just unable to comprehend.

Too many strip clubs. Need only a few big ones.

 

[BigGameDamian]

I wouldn't be surprised if there was, at one time, life on Mars.

I also wouldn't be surprised if there was life on earth prior to what our history shows us. A reboot of sorts. Humans achieving a technological advancement not far from that which we have now and unfortunately wiping themselves out.

Rebirth after death in a different life?