[ExI] Thoughts on space, on the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing

[MB]

> --- On Sat, 7/18/09, MB <mbb386 at main.nc.us> wrote:
>> > In some sense I tend to agree with the option “We
>> need to expand, but
>> > with biologically modified transhumans”.
>>
>> Puts me in mind of James Blish's "The Seedling Stars" from
>> so many years ago.
>
> Any reason we should right now start "contaminating" Mars and other bodies in the
> solar system with Earth life? We could easily start dumping microbes on Mars, for
> instance. Wouldn't add much cost to any future mission... Of course, then we could
> never be sure, if we find life there, that it's truly native. And, no doubt, it'll
> alter any local climate and other systems. So we lose some objects of study... But
> this is true of any change we make, no?
>

The post just reminded me of the stories. The biological modifications were quite
interesting. And it was fun to read, considering that the various characters
retained their "humanness" even though heavily modified for alien environments.

We may already have dumped microbes on Mars - and the moon. Eventually we'll find
out if anything lived - we have such astonishing variety of life here on this planet
there's no telling what of "ours" might make it elsewhere also.

Regards,
MB