I recently came across an article in Bad Astronomy (linked) that was about a new startup called Planetary Resources, featuring the investment of several billionaires, including James Cameron. This sounds plenty amazing to me - I love it so much when sci-fi becomes real. I suggest you read that blog article that I linked, as Phil Plait does it better than I will. Go read it, then come back
Ok, you done that?
OK, so those who know me know that I have a degree in Microbiology and Immunology Bsc Hons (the letters at the end are important for my ego - they mean Bachelor of Science with Honours (always makes me think of Bachelours Super-Noodles, which are what you eat when studying for your Bachelors - I wonder if there is a connection?)) . This is important for establishing why I love what I'm about to talk about.
When I think about space, it takes me almost no time at all to get to thinking about alien life. This is because it seems to me to be most likely that the first and later, most common Extraterrestrial Life we will find will be bacteria or bacteria-analogues (things that aren't bacteria, but are very much like them, and fill a similar evolutionary niche). Now since the kind of environments we are likely to find on other planets (or indeed on other sorts of celestial bodies like comets, asteroids and maybe even gas clouds) are generally considered extreme by Earth standards, it makes sense to imagine that any bacteria or bacteria-analogues that we find will be, by any reasonable definition, extremophilic. That is to say that they live and thrive in environmental conditions so bizarre, so extreme that until recently people thought that life could not live in these places.
The really deep ocean - like a few kilometres down (link to my new favourite graphic of this), can have a huge number of extreme conditions for life - super-pressure, super-salinity, super-heated water, totally unlighted water, liquid water below freezing point (yes, really), etc. Deep-sea is very unexplored, much like space in general. Deep-sea submersibles are very much like spacecraft in many ways, and deep-sea exploreres very much like astronauts. The research also ties in very nicely with each other - they're two sides of the same coin.
Take black smokers, ( link complete with sound recording - from the depths of the sea! How freaking cool is that!!!!!!!!) for instance. Discovered at the bottom of volcanic ocean trenches, they spume noxious chemicals at horrendous concentrations and super-heated temperatures, at depths with pressures that can scarcely be imagined. It is an environment that anyone could be forgiven for imagining was utterly inimical to life. But it's not. Not only does life exist there, but multi-cellular life. Complex life. Simple life like bacteria (or somewhat-living nucleic acid chunks like viruses) seems even more likely that complex life.
So what we have is evidence that life can live, sometimes in surprisingly complex forms, in environments that are mind-bending to conceive of. We also know that other planets have really harsh environments.
What I'm trying to say is that with the knowledge of extremophilic bacteria that we have, we have a reasonable hope that we might one day find ET life. Actual aliens. Real, genuine, real-life, for reals, for serious, in reality xenomorphs. Not quite as nightmarish as Aliens, hopefully.
What does this have to do with asteroid mining? Well, if you've read Phil Plait's post on the plan proposed by Planetary Resources, you'll notice that it makes a hell of a lot of sense. Step 1 is study. Step 2 is study more. Step three is do something about it. Look before you leap.
With increased space exploration, there comes an increased chance to find ET life - and here's the important bit - whether or not you actually notice it. It could be lurking entombed in asteroid ice shelves. We just don't know and can hardly predict. So we should be ready to recognise whatever tiny signs of life there are. The study of extremophilic bacteria and extreme environments, with which the ocean and other water environments are replete, gives us an insight into what kind of environments we know can and do support life - so that we can be more aware of the chances of finding life beyond our cradle.
What do you think about that?
Ok, you done that?
OK, so those who know me know that I have a degree in Microbiology and Immunology Bsc Hons (the letters at the end are important for my ego - they mean Bachelor of Science with Honours (always makes me think of Bachelours Super-Noodles, which are what you eat when studying for your Bachelors - I wonder if there is a connection?)) . This is important for establishing why I love what I'm about to talk about.
When I think about space, it takes me almost no time at all to get to thinking about alien life. This is because it seems to me to be most likely that the first and later, most common Extraterrestrial Life we will find will be bacteria or bacteria-analogues (things that aren't bacteria, but are very much like them, and fill a similar evolutionary niche). Now since the kind of environments we are likely to find on other planets (or indeed on other sorts of celestial bodies like comets, asteroids and maybe even gas clouds) are generally considered extreme by Earth standards, it makes sense to imagine that any bacteria or bacteria-analogues that we find will be, by any reasonable definition, extremophilic. That is to say that they live and thrive in environmental conditions so bizarre, so extreme that until recently people thought that life could not live in these places.
The really deep ocean - like a few kilometres down (link to my new favourite graphic of this), can have a huge number of extreme conditions for life - super-pressure, super-salinity, super-heated water, totally unlighted water, liquid water below freezing point (yes, really), etc. Deep-sea is very unexplored, much like space in general. Deep-sea submersibles are very much like spacecraft in many ways, and deep-sea exploreres very much like astronauts. The research also ties in very nicely with each other - they're two sides of the same coin.
Take black smokers, ( link complete with sound recording - from the depths of the sea! How freaking cool is that!!!!!!!!) for instance. Discovered at the bottom of volcanic ocean trenches, they spume noxious chemicals at horrendous concentrations and super-heated temperatures, at depths with pressures that can scarcely be imagined. It is an environment that anyone could be forgiven for imagining was utterly inimical to life. But it's not. Not only does life exist there, but multi-cellular life. Complex life. Simple life like bacteria (or somewhat-living nucleic acid chunks like viruses) seems even more likely that complex life.
So what we have is evidence that life can live, sometimes in surprisingly complex forms, in environments that are mind-bending to conceive of. We also know that other planets have really harsh environments.
What I'm trying to say is that with the knowledge of extremophilic bacteria that we have, we have a reasonable hope that we might one day find ET life. Actual aliens. Real, genuine, real-life, for reals, for serious, in reality xenomorphs. Not quite as nightmarish as Aliens, hopefully.
What does this have to do with asteroid mining? Well, if you've read Phil Plait's post on the plan proposed by Planetary Resources, you'll notice that it makes a hell of a lot of sense. Step 1 is study. Step 2 is study more. Step three is do something about it. Look before you leap.
With increased space exploration, there comes an increased chance to find ET life - and here's the important bit - whether or not you actually notice it. It could be lurking entombed in asteroid ice shelves. We just don't know and can hardly predict. So we should be ready to recognise whatever tiny signs of life there are. The study of extremophilic bacteria and extreme environments, with which the ocean and other water environments are replete, gives us an insight into what kind of environments we know can and do support life - so that we can be more aware of the chances of finding life beyond our cradle.
What do you think about that?
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