[meteorite-list] Panspermia, Reverse Panspermia & Life In Space

[Galactic Stone & Ironworks]

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 <mstreman53 at yahoo.com> 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 <mark.ford at ssl.gb.com> 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>>
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-- 
.........................................................
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
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