Martian discovery: Could finding life be humanity's greatest test?
Hopes for discovering life on Mars are growing with each new study pointing to potential locations of its existence. NASA's latest theory suggests that microbial life could exist beneath the Red Planet's ice surface. We asked Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher and professor at the University of Oxford, who noted in 2008 that discovering life on Mars could be the worst news in human history, what he thinks of recent discoveries.
On October 17, the latest NASA research findings on potential life locations on Mars were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. So far, Mars's existence has not been confirmed, but scientists are identifying more areas with conditions conducive to its development.
Searching for life on Mars
In the new study, NASA focused on one of the two types of ice present on Mars, specifically water ice. Large amounts of it have formed from snow mixed with dust that fell onto the surface of the Red Planet over millions of years. Frozen carbon dioxide ice can also be found on Mars.
NASA suggests that microbes might have found a potential home beneath the water ice on the surface of the Red Planet. Using computer modelling, the study's authors showed that sunlight penetrating through the water ice is sufficient for photosynthesis in shallow meltwater pools beneath the ice surface.
Additionally, ice of appropriate thickness protects against destructive ultraviolet radiation, ultimately providing suitable conditions for the growth and development of microbial life. Similar processes can be observed on the surface of our planet. Such meltwater reservoirs, which form in "earthly" ice, teem with life. NASA reminds us that one can find, among others, algae, fungi, or microscopic cyanobacteria, deriving energy from photosynthesis.
Life on Mars a bad omen for humanity?
Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher and professor at the University of Oxford, published an essay in the MIT Technology Review 16 years ago in which he considered the consequences of finding life on Mars.
"(...) if we discovered traces of some simple extinct life form—some bacteria, some algae—it would be bad news. If we found fossils of something more advanced, perhaps something looking like the remnants of a trilobite or even the skeleton of a small mammal, it would be very bad news. The more complex the life we found, the more depressing the news of its existence would be. Scientifically interesting, certainly, but a bad omen for the future of the human race," he noted in it.
When asked about his opinion on the latest NASA findings, Prof. Bostrom told WP Tech that such information about the results of searching for life on Mars appears occasionally, and in many cases, excessive excitement about them is premature. So far, it has not been possible to confirm the existence of life on Mars. However, this does not change the fact that its discovery could have significant consequences for humanity.
- If we discovered some very simple life forms on Mars in its soil or under the ice at the polar caps, it would show that the Great Filter must exist somewhere after that period in evolution. If we then discovered a more advanced life form, such as some kind of multicellular organism, this again would be even worse news for us. And if we discovered the fossils of some very complex life forms, like a vertebrate mammal, we would have to conclude that the probability is overwhelming that the bulk of the Great Filter is ahead of us. Such a discovery would be a crushing blow - emphasized Prof. Bostrom.
Robert Hanson, a professor of economics at George Mason University in Virginia, developed the mentioned Great Filter theory. It posits that sooner or later, every developing civilization must encounter an obstacle perceived as a filter. Overcoming this barrier is necessary for a civilization to reach a higher level. The obstacles can be various events, such as a nuclear war, a meteorite impact, a natural disaster, or an ice age.
