Thanks to Eric for starting this discussion. It's been great reading - pass the popcorn. :)
One thought from the peanut gallery - what if we (or some other species) accidentally "terraformed" a world by contaminating it with microbes? Imagine if a world like Mars got infected (so to speak) with a CO2-eating microbe that releases oxygen? Here the line between panspermia, contamination, and terraforming gets a little blurry. What if an intergalactic RV mistook our world for a dumping station and left us with the gift that keeps on giving? We may end up doing the same - intentionally or accidentally. Best regards, MikeG On 6/5/09, Mr EMan <[email protected]> wrote: > > Totally agree with Mark's quote below about Panspermia. As to reverse > contamination-- studies so far suggest launching and landing temperatures > are sufficiently low that neither process sterilizes the cargo: Mars to > Earth or Earth to Mars transport. > > Elton > --- On Fri, 6/5/09, Mark Ford <[email protected]> wrote: > > > << To be honest this whole Panspermia concept, has become a > bit of a religion in some circles, how is it more likely that > Earth was seeded by alien life than that that the Earth started life by > itself? Earth is perfect for life, all the ingredients are or where > present, we haven't seen anywhere else in the universe like earth for long > enough, so it seems sensible to assume it all started right here... > in a galaxy not so very far away.. > > Mark>> > ______________________________________________ > http://www.meteoritecentral.com > Meteorite-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > -- ......................................................... Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA) Member of the Meteoritical Society. Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network. Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com .......................................................... ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
