←back to thread

NASA finds Titan's lakes may be creating vesicles with primitive cell walls

(www.sciencedaily.com)
277 points Gaishan | 3 comments | 10 Sep 25 00:10 UTC | HN request time: 0.034s | source
Show context
dash2 ◴[10 Sep 25 06:50 UTC] No.45194159[source]▶
This feels very cynical, but what incentive does NASA have to do research showing alien life is not very likely in our solar system?
replies(3): >>45194306 #>>45194669 #>>45202418 #
jiggawatts ◴[10 Sep 25 07:14 UTC] No.45194306[source]▶
This is a point I keep making: every one of NASA’s Mars missions has very carefully excluded any scientific instrument that could conclusively eliminate the presence of life... and hence future missions to find life.

I.e.: they don’t carry high power microscopes because apparently there’s no room for one on a 900kg rover the size of a car.

replies(3): >>45194468 #>>45194494 #>>45194656 #
1. lukan ◴[10 Sep 25 07:41 UTC] No.45194494[source]▶
Erm, just no. I have an old book lying around about Viking, the first mission to the surface of Mars and written before it reached Mars. The book is full of the expectation that they will find life and are rather curious what kind of life. (And the book describes all the instruments and methology)

But no traces of life were found ever.

If there is life on Mars, it is hidden underground in vulcanic active areas and alike and no mission we can do today, could conclude with certainty that there is no life on Mars. But we have been looking real hard.

replies(1): >>45194636 #
2. veqq ◴[10 Sep 25 07:59 UTC] No.45194636[source]▶
What's the name of the book?
replies(1): >>45194651 #
3. lukan ◴[10 Sep 25 08:01 UTC] No.45194651[source]▶
Projekt Viking by Ernst Stuhlinger.

But in german and no idea if it was ever translated, but I assume similar books exist in english.