Quote:
Originally posted by Hedgehog
Aren't we wasting time and money, when we should be sending tanks full of anaerobic bacteria and genetically-modified algae to produce an oxygen atmosphere on Mars? Wouldn't NASA be better off actually producing some tangible results rather than just spending money on reconnaisance?
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Scientifically, we aren't even close to being able to genetically engineer an organism that could survive the cosmic radiation, temperature extremes and other problems with living on the surface of mars.
Also, we need to do these recon missions in order to figure out (a) what nutrients there are on Mars (that bacteria ain't just gonna eat whatever they land on) and (b) whether there is water to be had (life as we know it cannot survive without water)