When will we find life elsewhere in the solar system?

[Neil]

Could be on the Mars, the moons of Jupitor or Saturn?

[EvilNed]

In this solar system? Never ever, doesn't exist. In the Galaxy or Universe is another matter, but we won't get there in thousands of years (if at all).

[Neil]

In this solar system? Never ever, doesn't exist. In the Galaxy or Universe is another matter, but we won't get there in thousands of years (if at all).

You don't think even some bacteria may exist on Mars, Enceladus or Europa for example?

[Terran]

Its really hard to say.....


Any of these upcoming missions could show us something that gives us indisputable evidence for life elsewhere.....

But they could not....

Im going to be optimistic and say 2020-2029

The more time passes the more likely we will find it but it could happen at any moment.....we already have some evidence for life on other planets (Mars) but nothing conclusive.....

Saying that flat out we wont find life within our solar system at all because its impossible for it to have existed seems a bit silly...because theres nothing we have learned so far that would lead us to suspect that its impossible

[capncnut]

2060 or later. None of us know whether there is life in our solar system but I think not. The only way we will truly know is when we have conquered the outer reaches of the system like the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud. A Pluto mission is currently underway so that deals with the Kuiper Belt. Maybe when they set up a mission to Sedna then we'll have a broader idea of the situation. According to NASA, Sedna is the closest thing that resembles the Earth in our system and a mission to go there is inevitable.

[Eyebiter]

Does microscopic life count? If so probes have already found ice and water deposits on Mars. Where there is water there is life.

As for intelligent life in the solar system, it can be argued humanity has been visited at various times in our history. Perhaps ET has decided to remain hidden until the earth becomes more civilized. At this point we are too barbaric and warlike. A few live among us observing our culture and development, much like we would send anthropologists to live among a tribe of natives.

[Rottedfreak]

I think there might be something equivalent to humans on Mars. Time will tell....

Probably not in our lifetime.

[capncnut]

Now I see why we have all these science polls. Cliximus Maximus. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6461201.stm)

[Neil]

Now I see why we have all these science polls. Cliximus Maximus. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6461201.stm)

Frustrating isn't it! Chances are those caves won't be explored even in the next 50yrs :(

[capncnut]

Yeah I know. I believe these caves warrant an immediate mission. Why send probes to Pluto when you got something as exciting as this next door. Surely they can send some kind of bot in there with a light...

[Neil]

Yeah I know. I believe these caves warrant an immediate mission. Why send probes to Pluto when you got something as exciting as this next door. Surely they can send some kind of bot in there with a light...

I don't think they're going to find anything on the floor/walls of the caves themselves, but these caves offer a easy way of getting well below the surface of Mars. If you could get into one, and do some digging/tests in them, that's surely where you're going to find something - ie: Tucked away from the more unfriendly conditions up-above...

[Dommm]

Personally I think it will be a while before we find intelligent life, hundreds-thousands of years, we might find micro organisms within our own solar system. As far as intelligent life goes it may take us many years but it may come to us sooner mwah hahahha

[capncnut]

Can you imagine if the bot found wall drawings/carvings. All that time spent wondering where they were and the buggers were sitting next to us all along. Imagine the tabloids? Imagine the outcry amoungst christians and religious leaders? N.A.S.A. need to work on this right away 'cos it's probably the biggest clue they have discovered thus far.

Man, what if there was a monolith down there? Why not, Clarke has predicted pretty much everything else. :eek::D

[Danny]

i think on titan or netune there may be something, not advanced, hell not even cavemen level or even cattle level, maybe bugs and cuttlefish and stuff at the most advanced, or maybe like pulsating silicon based crystals that are sentient or some ****, who knows, ive allways like the saying form jurassic park two "life will find a way".

and yeah, cave drawings would be awesome, id like to see what intelligent design would make of that.

- not a snide jab, honestly ,id love to see what a religous view that doesnt believe in evolution would make of life on another rock.

though technically "god created the heaven and earth" probably would mean xenobiology on mars would be moreaccepted than man with a tail and fur.

i deifnatley think theres life out in the infinite expanses of the ether but an intelligent civilisation?, nowere near us i reckon, and if there is, theyll probably be getting videos of hitler right now talking about the final solution, which if i was an alien would be a good sign to stay away from those freaky ass hairless monkeys from the blueplanet.

they should just stay at home on marklar.:lol:



EDIT - i think i am officially the first person in homepage of the dead history to use the word cuttlefish in a post.

[EvilNed]

You don't think even some bacteria may exist on Mars, Enceladus or Europa for example?

Nope.

[bassman]

I think we'll find something pretty soon. That is....if we haven't already.:shifty:

[coma]

Part of the issue is Life as we know it. On the bottom of the sea there is life that exists in tremendous pressure with little oxygen, no light. Sometimes they are by volcanic fissures and exist with extremely high levels of sulfur. Above ground the same sulfuric conditions. Life as we recognize it is expanding along with the idea of alternate sources of sustenance.
I think life is probably pretty common is very simple forms. Intelligent lfe is a different story, but crystalline viruses, bacterium and simple 1 cell creatures that exist is atmospheres foreign to us is very likely. To think otherwise is more Xenophobia.

[_liam_]

i voted never, but i guess i meant we'll never find intelligent life.

personally i think this is the first planet to spawn life, us, or whatever comes after us, will leave the planet, settle elsewhere, proliferate and begin to evolve seperately to colonies on other planets.

life is the earth's gift to the universe, maaan

[capncnut]

personally i think this is the first planet to spawn life...
In the solar system? Surely not the whole universe.

[fartpants]

i think its a shame we cant show the same fascination for some of the life forms on earth, before we go looking to the stars

[capncnut]

Oh I show the same fascination for Earth bound lifeforms, definitely. There's was a freaky six legged insecty type thing on the wall outside my home that had me staring at it for 5 whole minutes the other day. Never seen it's kind before in my life. :eek:

[MinionZombie]

Go on, I'll be a pescimist (sp?) this time round I'll say 2050-59 ... those Mars caves sound interesting ...

Mind you, it'll probably be bacteria or something, no 'intelligent' life that we can converse with ... and then we'll probably get a plague sweeping the earth after a sample is brought back to earth...:eek:

[_liam_]

In the solar system? Surely not the whole universe.

yep,i reckon we are the only intelligent life.

if there's life on other planets, its a bit unlikely it popped up on all planets at the same time, so it stands to reason that one planet spawned life before the rest, and i reckon our planet is the one.

it is a bit of a wacky theory, but the evidence is in it's favour...

[capncnut]

if there's life on other planets, its a bit unlikely it popped up on all planets at the same time, so it stands to reason that one planet spawned life before the rest, and i reckon our planet is the one.
I disagree, to say that we are the original lifeform is incredibly poncy. I think it's been going on for many millions of years, and our solar system is only a blip compared to the universe. Scientists are already spotting earth-like planets in distant systems. You got to think, the nearest system to us is Alpha Centauri and with current technology it would take over 100,000 years to get there! There's no way were alone, that would make us a one in infinity chance of existing.

[MinionZombie]

Indeed, there's no way we're alone, it's just that "we" are so disparate in the whole universe that it can seem that way ... the human race may be great, but we're a blip on the proverbial radar in the grand scheme of things, ergo ... in my "New Sin Cities is almost on, ergo I'm rushing" thought process ... there must be more of us, if we can pop up, similar things to us, or greater, or lesser, must surely be somewhere!

*gotta run!*

[Neil]

yep,i reckon we are the only intelligent life.

if there's life on other planets, its a bit unlikely it popped up on all planets at the same time, so it stands to reason that one planet spawned life before the rest, and i reckon our planet is the one.

it is a bit of a wacky theory, but the evidence is in it's favour...What evidence is that? Our extensive planetary survey of the billion stars in our galaxy :rolleyes:

[capncnut]

You don't think even some bacteria may exist on Mars, Enceladus or Europa for example?
Well, scientists seem to be hopeful with the mars situation. However, Europa is a tricky one because they have to build a bot that can drill into the ice, which could go on for miles and miles. Plus you have to have a camera system that wont freeze up in the intense cold, too many problems. Europa may have await a manned mission in the very distant future. We will probably never know about Europa's situation in our lifetime, which is a shame, 'cos where there's water, there's generally...

[_liam_]

What evidence is that? Our extensive planetary survey of the billion stars in our galaxy :rolleyes:

well i did say it was a bit wacky.

but i dont believe in aliens, and we havent found any trace of them

you believe in aliens, and we havent found any trace of them

it's not crazy mad stuff.

goin back to what i saying earlier,if you believe life exists on other planets, then do you also believe that life occurred simultaneously on all planets, or that life occurred on one planet first?

tbh, i think it's more likely that life occurred on one planet first, then the next, then the next etc.
i just think that the first planet is our planet, and the rest of the universe has yet to catch up.

there's no way to prove it, but then there's no way to disprove it either, as both viewpoints rely on rationalisation rather than evidence.

[Tricky]

How awesome would it be to go visit an unspoiled planet earth!Imagine if quick and easy space travel came along,and there were planets like earth that were treated like our national parks are.Or to land on a planet of humans who were going through the medieval period or someting.It would be interesting,but humans being humans we would mess it up by trying to "help them" :rolleyes:

[MinionZombie]

but humans being humans we would mess it up by trying to "help them"

lol, definitely :D

No doubt a 'new earth' would be corrupted just the same as the current one, but it would be interesting to meander around an earth that's like 1000 years behind us ... would we leave them be and just be casual, touring observers? Or would we bring them our technology and make them skip 1000 years of history and development just so they can catch us up?

No doubt someone would be sorely tempted to bring them screaming into the post-modern era while they're still screaming "burn the witch" at a toaster...:lol:

[_liam_]

maybe we all are living on petri dish recreation of the earth as it was long ago...

there's a theory that we are living in a computer simulation of the earth created by people in the future with that kinda curiosity



:confused:

[Tricky]

Now put those matrix DVD's away young 'un :p

[MinionZombie]

:lol: ... but of course, the thing with The Matrix is, conceivably, it could be true...like the films were a kinda of 'leaked message' to us all stuck in some machine kept asleep and dreaming...because, well, you never could honestly really know could you?

Petri dish planet earth? *shudders* ... now that's some spooky shiite...

[Tricky]

Imagine that,if to some other race,watching us is like looking at bacteria through a microscope,if our entire galaxy is just on a microscope slide in some giant other world......:confused:

I think ive just popped my own head trying to concieve that :lol:

[MinionZombie]

just on a microscope slide in some giant other world......

Well if they're watching - fix it so I win the lottery!! :)

[_liam_]

http://www.simulation-argument.com/

here it is, lol, it has it's own dot com now...

thing is, you cant really disprove it...

[Neil]

http://www.simulation-argument.com/

here it is, lol, it has it's own dot com now...

thing is, you cant really disprove it...

Have I come into this discussion late? Is this the theory that most likely we are a simulation? ie: Given the future power of computers and therefore the perfect simulations they could generate, and given they would run millions of them, the odds are we are infact one of these simulations rather then real? :)

[_liam_]

Have I come into this discussion late? Is this the theory that most likely we are a simulation? ie: Given the future power of computers and therefore the perfect simulations they could generate, and given they would run millions of them, the odds are we are infact one of these simulations rather then real? :)

that's the one ;)

load of rubbish really, but it's interesting to speculate...

[Danny]

:lol: ... but of course, the thing with The Matrix is, conceivably, it could be true...like the films were a kinda of 'leaked message' to us all stuck in some machine kept asleep and dreaming...because, well, you never could honestly really know could you?

Petri dish planet earth? *shudders* ... now that's some spooky shiite...


i dont know what made me more paranoid, the matrix or the truman show, though im pretty paranoid to be begin with.:lol:
as for the humans in a matrix thing, even if it were true how would you know if you were real or just the high tech equivalent of an "npc"?:shifty:

[MinionZombie]

The Truman Show is probably more realistic, what with spy cameras and such ... no "man in the moon" or anything like that, nor a big sky-coloured wall ... but I remember seeing something on TV ages ago about some psycho TV repairman who installed a secret camera inside a woman's VCR that was in her bedroom, it was there for ages and this dude was perving on her via remote. :eek:

[Neil]

load of rubbish really, but it's interesting to speculate...Of course, we're programmed with that pre-disposition!


i dont know what made me more paranoid, the matrix or the truman show, though im pretty paranoid to be begin with.:lol:
as for the humans in a matrix thing, even if it were true how would you know if you were real or just the high tech equivalent of an "npc"?:shifty:

All you guys are the NPCs.. I'm what the simulation obviously revolves around! ;)

[capncnut]

Most NPC's die after 10 hits. :D

[Danny]

....*tumbleweed*..........