Microbe Fossils-Mars

Rick Knight (rknight@platinum.com)
Fri, 22 Aug 97 10:19:41 CST

Anders Sandberg wrote (regarding a meteor that fell on Australia in
1969):

I'm sceptical; saying it is fungi and bacteria sounds a bit too bold.
It is likely that the newspaper has distorted the news somewhat.
Looking through the web suggests that Dr Richard Hoover isn't
involved in meteor research, although he seems to be interested in
diatoms.

Rick Knight:

I read today that bacteria has been discovered 2 miles below the
surface of the earth. Don't know much about geology (sounds like a
song...) but I'd assume 2 miles deep is a bit inhospitable for all but
the most robust tiny life forms. So what if there's microbes on Mars?
We all blew out from the same stellar stuff billions of years ago.
Maybe Mars was a resort planet at one time. Looks like a pretty red
rock now! Am I being callous? Perhaps. I just don't see what the
big deal is. Does the notion of life, ANY life, however microscopic,
really impact our place in the universe much. Seems to me like even
the religious zealots would be shrugging their shoulders. I much
prefer our research dollars going towards restoring and improving
earth conditions and listening for "come back" signals from out there.

Rick