[meteorite-list] Two Conjectures concerning possible Martian nanobacteria

From: Francis Graham <francisgraham_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:06:15 2004
Message-ID: <20021114231400.17026.qmail_at_web40101.mail.yahoo.com>

Dear List,
  There is much debate still if ALH 84001's life signs
are real or a strange funny juxtaposition of
nonbiological red herrings. There is also discussion
of whether Earth-originated meteorites can make it to
Mars; there is some evidence discussed here in the
past that they made it to the Moon.
   I'd like to point out what seems obvious, although
I'm probably not the first to point it out (I think
Paul Davies might have been).
   To assert there was NEVER any Martian life, at
least ONE of the following conjectures must be true:

No Free Ride Conjecture
   It must be absolutely impossible, or so highly
improbable so that billions of years of impacts could
not have a reasonable opportunity, to transport a
spore from Earth to Mars in such a way that the spore
could grow if placed in a suitable environment.

Killer Mars Conjecture
   If the No Free Ride Conjecture is not true, then
Mars must never have had the conditions needed for a
positive growth rate of such organisms.

   Mars jar experiments of the past lead one to
believe the Killer Mars Conjecture is unlikely to be
true. So for there to have been no Martians ever, the
No Free Ride Conjecture must be true. How likely is it
to be?

Francis Graham




       
  
   

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Received on Thu 14 Nov 2002 06:14:00 PM PST