are we martians?????

[brazilian_and_proud]

Assuming that there were life on mars before, could martian bacteria come to earth through a big asteroid hit and sending clumps of rock towards the earth. On those rocks could life have survived that journey????and survive the impact with earth?????

 

[ittiz]

Unlikely but not impossible. Meteorites get plenty hot enough to kill any living thing in it. Although I guess if some of the meteorite survived the impact some of the bacteria inside might be able to survive if it were kept cool some how.

 

[djtt]

journey and impact are not the significant problems<br />something breaking off a stable mars, leaving orbit and actually hitting earth are<br />possible, nonetheless

 

[brazilian_and_proud]

because life hadd to come from somewhere,so that actually does make sense..but who knos?<br /><br />It is the tension between creativity and skepticism that has produced the stunning and unexpected findings of science.<br />Carl Sagan

 

[nbound]

While the outsides of meteorites get extremely hot entering an atmosphere, the insides remain quite cool (kinda like the space shuttle - the astronauts dont burn up)... The main problem as stated is chance of it hitting the Earth after being blasted from Mars... though its definately not impossible

 

[MeteorWayne]

Why did life have to come from somewhere else?<br />Maybe it developed here, and everywhere else got it from us?<br /><br />Who knows? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brazilian_and_proud]

well idk y but...it hadd to come from sumthin and mars looked habitable b4 in the solar system

 

[mikeemmert]

You're right, MeteorWayne, it's nearly certain life came from here. There's a slight chance that we are Martians, bacteria could survive getting blasted off Mars, but if we do find life or fossils on Mars, there's no chance of it coming from here. It takes too much energy to get a rock up to escape velocity from Earth.<br /><br />Occam's razor; the simplest solution; is what you say; life came from Earth. That's what I believe. That we could be Martians doesn't make it so.

 

[derekmcd]

Panspermia is an idea that will not go away anytime soon and justifiably so. It is entirely plausible. Martian rocks have indeed impacted earth and have been studied and debated inconclusively last I remember. Keep in mind, though... there is no evidence of life elsewhere and that really diminishes the odds that it happened. Another 'odds' killer is that even though there are some very sturdy bacteria out there, surviving a trip of that magnitude would test the very limits of extremophiles <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[oscar1]

Where you say "It takes too much energy..." you can only mean around 11km/second, maintained for about 15 seconds. I would imagine that a meteor like the one that supposedly eradicated the dinosaurs could have produced sufficient energy for a 'rock launch'. Also, I could imagine that a sudden crack in the earth' crust, due to volcanic activity, whereby water pores in and evaporates in a split second, could very well produce the energy needed.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Oscar is right. It is certainly not impossible for earth rocks to have traveled to Mars. While the other path is more likely, it is nowhere near impossible. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[mikeemmert]

The concern is not so much speed as vaporization. The Chixulub event created tektites, which are molten globs of rock. Rocks can and do survive entry into the Earths' atmosphere because (negative) acceleration takes place over a time span of about 15 seconds. Launch, on the other hand, would have to take place in much less than a second. Shock heating would almost certainly melt it.<br /><br />I don't think volcanism can do the job. The temperatures just aren't high enough. The most carefully designed gun which uses a propellant gas comparable to volcanic gases will get 1.6 km/sec, at best. These would be the WWI Paris gun and some discarding sabot armor piercing rounds used in tank cannons.<br /><br />Guns with higher muzzle velocity use a two stage system with a piston compressing a light gas such as hydrogen or helium. It is the speed of sound through the propellant gas which largely determines the maximum muzzle velocity possible. I don't know of any volcanoes that produce mainly hydrogen or helium gas.<br /><br />Please take the time to google up links in defense of your hypothesis, which would make it more believable. Actually, I think googling is fun. Good luck! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[oscar1]

I wasn't thinking along the lines of a classic volcanic eruption, but of a giant gush of water almost instantly turning into vapour in a slot in the earth' crust. Would our thus launched rock turn into magma instantly and/or entirely? I don't know; I'll look into that as you suggested.

 

[derekmcd]

Ejecta from a volcano reaching escape velocity? That's a real stretch. I just can't imagine even the most powerful volcano ever to have erupted could have accomplished this on earth. This theory might work with some of the moons (IO for example) or maybe Mars, but highly unlikely on Earth (if not impossible). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[oscar1]

I was actually thinking along the lines of a steam explosion, almost immediately followed by a hydrogen one. Whether that would be enough for a rock to reach escape velocity I don't know. But during a period of more than a billion years, an event may have taken place where a sequel of such [dual] explosions, within a very short space of time of each other, pushed a rock up and out of reach of earth' gravity.

 

[alokmohan]

Any link?Your post reminds of humourous talk by Patric Moore:I am a martian.

 

[derekmcd]

I'd have to search for sources, but I don't believe there has been any simulations re-creating an event that would support volcanic ejecta as a potential for panspermia originating from the Earth. IIRC, there are only 3 known (no doubt there may have been more) impact events that had enough energy to accomplish this... very rare indeed. I shouldn't completely discount volcanoes, but would think it is just not possible. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

I am also inclined to disbelieve.No link provided.

 

[oscar1]

Bear with me, I am not a scientist. Yet, the thought that a steam explosion, followed by possible consequential explosions, can perhaps develop enough thrust for a rock to be launched, I derived from one of Jules Verne's books ("L'îlle mystérieuse"; I don't know the English title). And when you have a look at Wikipedia under "Steam Explosion", you can see that if there is zirconium around, hydrogen can be released and explode.

 

[derekmcd]

This article discounts volcanoes as a culprit. I did some searching and couldn't find not a single theory supporting volcanic ejecta in any way, shape, or form tossing objects into space. I though IO might achieve it frequently, but that is even still debated when considering the ejecta also has to escape Jupiter's influence. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[dragon04]

<font color="yellow">Assuming that there were life on mars before, could martian bacteria come to earth through a big asteroid hit and sending clumps of rock towards the earth.</font><br /><br />It's not impossible, but also not very probable, IMO. More likely, comets brought the compounds of life to Earth.<br /><br /><font color="yellow">On those rocks could life have survived that journey????and survive the impact with earth?????</font><br /><br />Likely not <b>on</b> the rocks, but rather <b>in</b> the rocks. Bacteria have been found inside rock core samples taken from strata kilometers deep.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

And that's true for the Mars to Earth, as well as the earth to Mars trips.<br />Assuming, for a moment, that the transfer is a result of a meteorite impact (the most likely way to obtain sifficient delta-V), the only way for life components to survive is inside a rock. Anything near the surface would be sterilized.<br />The comet path is also not likely for a large object, but micrometeorites from comets are not heated in the atmosphere, so molecular components could survive.<br />It is a fascinating idea.<br />One day we may find the clues to choose among the possibilities. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[oscar1]

An interesting read, thank you.

 

[alokmohan]

Fred Hoyle explained panspermia like that and he is a creationist.

 

[alokmohan]

Panspermia is NOT science.I say panspermia literally means life came from ouside(this planet).Science has some methods and it is cogent.It may prove wrong in future or not.We may not be biased also.But some UFOlogists are misusing this concept.