Liquid water 'lake' revealed on Mars

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**Iron_Captain**

Vulcan wrote:

Iron_Captain wrote:
GoatboyBeta wrote:
Aside from the issues of sample contamination/destruction from a steam drill(or any other kind of drill really). You would still need to get at least 1.5km of hose/cable to a very specific spot on the Martian ice cap. Taking samples from a location like this is going to need boots on the ground with a support and supply chain that only a large scale permanent base could provide.

That said, if life was found more widspreadly on Mars could it cause problems for any colonization plans? Even if its "just" microbes any future Mars base would have to be a lot more carful about contaminating a living world than a dead one.

Screw microbes. We need more living space. Either they will adapt to Human influences or they will die out. Most likely, nobody is going to notice either way.

I would think Siberia would provide you Russians with PLENTY of living space, and it's far warmer than Mars is...

Exactly. And that is why we need Mars. It is an even better location for prison camps than Siberia. Once we start using Siberia for living space we will need a new place where we can send political prisoners and undesirable minorities, hide secret military bases and where we can strip-mine resources to send back to Moscow. We might even build a great Trans-Martian Railway. Cold, empty and full of polluting heavy industry and military facilities. It will feel just like home! Only with less bears to wrestle, but maybe we can introduce bears to Mars too.

**Kilkrazy**

There's an eclipse of the moon tonight accompanied by the closest approach of Mars to Earth, in conjunction with Venus and Jupiter.

It's going to be quite a show for most of the world but the Americas are in the wrong position to catch the eclipse.

**Skinnereal**

USA got a good show last year, IIRC.
And, just in time for the month-long heatwave to cloud over in the UK.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Iron_Captain wrote:
Exactly. And that is why we need Mars. It is an even better location for prison camps than Siberia. Once we start using Siberia for living space we will need a new place where we can send political prisoners and undesirable minorities, .

New Australia, you mean?

**Vulcan**

Iron_Captain wrote:
Vulcan wrote:

Iron_Captain wrote:
GoatboyBeta wrote:
Aside from the issues of sample contamination/destruction from a steam drill(or any other kind of drill really). You would still need to get at least 1.5km of hose/cable to a very specific spot on the Martian ice cap. Taking samples from a location like this is going to need boots on the ground with a support and supply chain that only a large scale permanent base could provide.

That said, if life was found more widspreadly on Mars could it cause problems for any colonization plans? Even if its "just" microbes any future Mars base would have to be a lot more carful about contaminating a living world than a dead one.

Screw microbes. We need more living space. Either they will adapt to Human influences or they will die out. Most likely, nobody is going to notice either way.

I would think Siberia would provide you Russians with PLENTY of living space, and it's far warmer than Mars is...

Exactly. And that is why we need Mars. It is an even better location for prison camps than Siberia. Once we start using Siberia for living space we will need a new place where we can send political prisoners and undesirable minorities, hide secret military bases and where we can strip-mine resources to send back to Moscow. We might even build a great Trans-Martian Railway. Cold, empty and full of polluting heavy industry and military facilities. It will feel just like home! Only with less bears to wrestle, but maybe we can introduce bears to Mars too.

Ah. Sarcasm. Noted.

**Kilkrazy**

The Blood Moon was a big disappointment. We had our first proper rain for a couple of weeks and of course the clouds covered the sky until the moon was gone. We're back to searing blue, now.

**Gitzbitah**

Shouldn't the title be lake found in Mars?

This actually sounds really cool- and a great plan for The Descent Part 3. Curious scientists are attacked by Martians, after a cave in traps them in the lake system they were exploring!

Has any fiction been written with the idea of the Martian colonies being dug below the surface? I've read tons of dome stories, but can't really recall much buried bunker Mars fiction.

**BlaxicanX**

Steve steveson wrote:
NinthMusketeer wrote:
My prediction remains that when we find extraterrestrial life it will be boring; single cell extremeophiles tremendously interesting to those in the relevant scientific fields but decidedly meh in the public eye. After the initial excitement, obviously.

This would only serve as evidence that the general public are idiots. Extra terrestrial life would be hugely important. It would totally change the way think about ourselves in the universe. How we think life evolved. The chances of life elsewhere.

And yet any importance it would have would still pale in comparison to what the human imagination has already conjured up over the course of our history.

**RiTides**

Gitzbitah wrote:
Shouldn't the title be lake found in Mars?

This actually sounds really cool- and a great plan for The Descent Part 3. Curious scientists are attacked by Martians, after a cave in traps them in the lake system they were exploring!

Has any fiction been written with the idea of the Martian colonies being dug below the surface? I've read tons of dome stories, but can't really recall much buried bunker Mars fiction.

That's a great point! And with some automated drillers working for decades ahead of time, maybe even a lot more feasible...

I think the "Red Rising" books might use the underground premise somewhat, but weren't very "techy"...

**Xenomancers**

Gitzbitah wrote:
Shouldn't the title be lake found in Mars?

This actually sounds really cool- and a great plan for The Descent Part 3. Curious scientists are attacked by Martians, after a cave in traps them in the lake system they were exploring!

Has any fiction been written with the idea of the Martian colonies being dug below the surface? I've read tons of dome stories, but can't really recall much buried bunker Mars fiction.

Makes me think of doom 3.

**whembly**

Hey... we should be a little cautious no?

The Water of Mars might be a documentary... or something.