Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go

by David A. Weintraub

Does life exist on Mars? The question has captivated humans for centuries, but today it has taken on new urgency. NASA plans to send astronauts to Mars orbit by the 2030s. SpaceX wants to go by 2024, while Mars One wants to land a permanent settlement there in 2032. As we gear up for missions like these, we have a responsibility to think deeply about what kinds of life may already inhabit the planet--and whether we have the right to invite ourselves in. This book tells the complete story of the quest to answer one of the most tantalizing questions in astronomy. But it is more than a history. Life on Mars explains what we need to know before we go.

David Weintraub tells why, of all the celestial bodies in our solar system, Mars has beckoned to us the most. He traces how our ideas about life on Mars have been refined by landers and rovers, terrestrial and Mars-orbiting telescopes, spectroscopy, and even a Martian meteorite. He explores how finding DNA-based life on the Red Planet could offer clues about our distant evolutionary past, and grapples with the profound moral and ethical questions confronting us as we prepare to introduce an unpredictable new life form—ourselves—into the Martian biosphere.

Life on Mars is also a book about how science is done—and undone—in the age of mass media. It shows how Mars mania has obscured our vision since we first turned our sights on the planet and encourages a healthy skepticism toward the media hype surrounding Mars as humanity prepares to venture forth.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy, Travel

312 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Professor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University

David A. Weintraub is Professor of Astronomy and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Physics & Astronomy, at Vanderbilt University.

Weintraub is also Director of the Program in the Communication of Science and Technology (CSET) and Co-Director of the Scientific Computing Program.

Weintraub is author of several books, including:

-Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?;

-How Old is the Universe?; and

-Is Pluto a Planet?

Reviews

[Zoubir · Rating 4 out of 5]

من المفروض ان يكون عنوان الكتاب "غاز الميثان في كوكب المريخ" و ليس "الحياة في المريخ". ربما هذه مبالغة و لكن الكاتب لم يتكلم عن الحياة في المريخ بمفهوم "كيف نعيش في المريخ" بل من مفهوم "هل توجد حياة في المريخ". فالكتاب ثري من ناحية المعلومات و احباطي ليس نابعا من محتواه بقدر مخالفته لتوقعي.
يستهل الكاتب بتاريخ تكوّن الكوكب الأحمر و عن تاريخ اكتشاف الكوكب على مرّ التاريخ، فمعظم الحضارات القديمة كانت تعرفه كنجم ساطع. ثم يتكلم باسهاب عن محاولات الفلكيين لتحديد محتوى الغلاف الجوي الكوكب و عن وتفسيراتهم لاحد اكبر الالغاز و هي الاخاديد و الوديان الجافة على سطح المريخ و التي شغلت الفلكيين في فترة ما بعد اكتشاف التيليسكوب، كما يتكلم عن تخمينات الكثير - الخاطئة- عن تواجد كائنات و نباتات هناك، خاصة مبالغة الصحافة في هذا الموضوع كلما أعلن العلماء عن نتائج جديدة كوجود الماء مثلا. نال موضوع تواجد غاز الميثان حصة الأسد من الكتاب، نظرا لأهميته لإثبات وجود كائنات عضوية و لو مجهرية، ثم ختم بما اكتشفته المسابير التي ارسلت للمريخ منذ مسبار Vikings 1 و 2 وصولا لCuriosity و لكنه لم يذكر InSight لانه هبط في نهاية 2018 بينما الكتاب صادر في بداية السنة.
الكتاب مفيد لمن يهتم بتاريخ استكشاف الكوكب الأحمر عبر العصور.‎

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great science book, but not a fun read. Most of the book is devoted to documenting all the mistakes that have been made in the search for life on Mars. It's very important for scientists (and all humans) to learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of their predecessors. Unfortunately, this book offers almost no respite from the litany of bad ideas, documented in excruciating detail.

But still, reading this book is good for one thing: inoculating the reader against the hype machine that accompanies almost any mission to Mars. I wish we could get away from this fixation on the search for life as the be-all and end-all of space exploration. Can we ever just go to a planet for the sake of exploring the place, and learning about the unique processes that went on there? Does a planet have to have life to be interesting?

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is there life on Mars? Well, maybe there is, maybe there isn’t. I sort of knew as much before reading this book.

Now, I received the book as a gift. The gift-giver overestimated my interest in astronomy by some amount. I did feel compelled to read it but I was not holding my breath confronted with all the excitement.

I respect the attempt to fill an entire book with so little data. (Well, I once read an entire book on Galactic civilisations – by Asimov – were the data available was much thinner – but Asimov was a genius writer.)

Actually, what Weintraub does is, to not just summing up our knowledge today (just read the last chapter to get all you need to know) but he gives us the entire history of Mars studies. So reading this be prepared to learn the history of the Mars channels (again). Is there water? Is there chlorophyll? Maybe methane? What is the significance of ALH 84001?

I do hope I live long enough to see life on Mars. Brought to it by the first men (colonists) to land on it.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life on Mars is a fine piece of science history documenting our fascination with Mars and the possibility of life there. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2018...

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being, essentially, a history text, this book will be dated in about a year and a half as the author spends a lot of time at the beginning discussing various forecasted journeys to Mars, both manned and unmanned, planned for the window of 2019 – 2022. Sadly, given current affairs, I have a bad feeling most of these are going to be scrapped. Or rather, given the fig leaf of ‘postponed’ so various people can save political face.

The title of this book is misleading – this isn’t about how to put on spacesuits, or what would be needed to set up a hydroponics garden, but rather, it’s a history of humans studying the Red Planet, and how we always had EXPECTATIONS about what we would find, very often influencing our conclusions of the actual data gathered. (At one point Weintraub draws the analogy to early scientists in the 17th century who used what they claimed to be impersonal math and science formulas to calculate the age of the Earth, and all of them somehow managed to come up with the theologically satisfying number 6,000, which underlines how we have a long habit of finding exactly what we want to find, whether it’s true or not.)

There is so much we don’t know about Mars. About the age, the origins, the land, the water, the past, the present of Mars. We don’t know. But, instead of saying “we don’t know” people have just been making stuff up that fits their desires and expectations. And I’m not talking about Burroughs’ princesses or Bradbury’s cowboys-and-indians versions of Mars – that has always been catalogued on the fiction shelf – but here we have the scientists and journalists who are supposed to stick to facts, making things up while actually believing they are absolutely right about things that really just make them feel good – they make up what they desperately want to be true: that we are not alone.

A history of the theories of Mars turn out to say a lot more about humans than Mars.

People bring things to the table when it comes to Mars, sometimes with the full conscious bias that they are going to be the ones to “prove” the life they know must be there, is, in fact, there, others with an unconscious bias of how the world “works” they don’t even realize is influencing their “discoveries”. There is theological and philosophical biases creeping in everywhere, monetary bias based on who was funding particular projects, bias of desperately wanting attention, and more.

Plus, Weintraub drily points out that science and press conferences don’t mix well.

[Even as I read this book, The New York Times was blaring a headline (front page, above the fold!) about a Lake Found On Mars! which is definitely a sensational and misleading way to sum up the actual facts of that particular study.]

Weintraub then breaks down the serious study for life on Mars, as each generation for the past 200 years worked their way downwards from trying to find crystal cities with advanced humanoids to lush jungles to scrub brush to moss to mold to bacteria. (We’re willing to keep lowering the bar, but we lonely humans want to believe oh so very badly that there is some form of life out there.)

Those who study Mars have, for the past few decades, been so desperate to find life they are now chasing after possible shadows, looking for any type of footprint that suggests life is or was on the planet, more specifically, looking for methane gas, with inclusive studies so far.

Weintrub covers the history of planetary studies, from the earliest recorded observations of ancient civilizations, to the latest data coming in from the rovers currently trundling along on Mars, and everything in between, making a solid case that we are still operating under the weight of baggage from all the generations before us when it comes to the universe in general and Mars in particular, which we should be aware of as we try to figure out what is really happening up there on the Red Planet.

[Carmel-by-the-Sea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeśli Marsjanie istnieją, to kim lub czym są?

Poznanie mechanizmów rządzących przyrodą pomaga ludziom wprowadzać w swoim otoczeniu porządek i przewidywalność. Naukowcy z kolei motywują się potrzebą zrozumienia (przynajmniej tak wygląda na poziomie deklaracji czy idealizacji etosu). Wszystkich nas łączy powracające pytanie o istnienie życia poza Ziemią. Strach, pasja, pustka, nadzieja i inne emocje pchają nas do poszukiwań. Planeta Mars od setek lat jest pierwszym oczywistym poligonem poszukiwań. Jeśli tam jest życie, to drzwi do nowej perspektywy istnienia nas wobec Universum zostałyby otwarte. Gra toczy się o wielka stawkę.

Astronom David Weintraub w książce "Mars. W poszukiwaniu życia" prześledził ostatnie kilkaset lat zainteresowania Czerwoną Planetą pod kątem pytań o stopień organiczności budującej ją materii. Potraktował temat szeroko, zaczynając od opisania przyczyn fascynacji Marsem i krótkiego prześledzenia literackich motywów marsjańskich, włącznie z konsekwencjami medialnej aktywności Orsona Wellesa. Pierwsze rozdziały książki są w istocie próbą wytłumaczenia fenomenu popularności społecznego zaciekawienia Marsem, jako źródła zagrożeń czy nadziei oswajanych spiskowo, w fantastyce beletrystycznej i pierwszych naukowych obserwacjach. Ostatnie rozdziały to już bardziej naukowa próba rozprawienia się z kontrowersjami dotyczącymi analizy różnych wskaźników, które miałyby zbliżać do jednoznacznej odpowiedzi o marsjańskie życie.

Celem książki jest pozbieranie różnych przekonań o Marsie, które skupiają się na istnieniu na nim życia. Weintraub bardzo ciekawie pokazał pułapki czekające na poszukiwaczy odpowiedzi. Kanały Schapirelliego, które okazały się złudzeniem, a nie dziełem myśli technicznej Marsjan, błędy analizy widma przy poszukiwaniu wody marsjańskiej czy badany przez łaziki metan, który okazał się ziemskiego pochodzenia. To wszystko uświadamia z jednej strony nieodpartą ludzką potrzebę poszukiwania życia poza Ziemią a z drugiej czyhające na nas pułapu. Chcemy odpowiedzi i czasem brniemy w domysły, którym przypisujemy status obiektywnej prawdy. Naukowcy czasem pospiesznie komunikują tymczasowe wnioski, które społecznie odbiera się, jako finalne ustalenie. Astronom pokazuje, czym grozi naukowy marketing, zbytnie upraszczanie skomplikowanych treści, uprawianie nauki przez konferencje prasowe.

Od strony językowej (nie mam oryginalnego tekstu, więc bazuję tylko na tłumaczeniu) książka nie jest idealna dydaktycznie. Pewne partie są niepotrzebnie skomplikowane (szczególnie opisy poszukiwań metanu). Zdążały się i nieporadności czy proste błędy (wyraźnie to widać na stronach 40-42, które należałoby przeredagować w całości). Szkoda, że nie umieszczono kolorowych zdjęć czy grafik, choć piękna okładka sugeruje wielobarwność wnętrza. Przede wszystkim to uwiera w kilku wykresach, które utraciły przejrzystość (np. na str. 200 jest kompletnie nieczytelny wykres przytoczony z artykułu A&A[*], w którym krzywe są już pokolorowane). Na duży plus zaliczam poważne potraktowanie przez autora tematu książki i samego czytelnika, bo dając mu przegląd najważniejszych ustaleń, buduje w nim zobiektywizowane sądy o Marsjanach. Do tego doprowadza stan badań do 2017 roku, co tworzy z publikacji niemal zupełne kompedium z walorem aktualności.

Podsumowując. Temat przewodni książki to wąski, choć dla ludzi egzystencjalnie i prestiżowo ważny kawałek nauki. Chyba odpowiednią perspektywę całości nadają słowa autora (str. 227):

"Naukowcy nie zawsze znajdują to, czego szukają, kiedy projektują swoje eksperymenty. Jednak w trakcie eksperymentu prawie zawsze odkrywają rzeczy warte poznania. Nasza trwająca już sto lat pogoń za Marsjanami to przykład, jak napędzana ciekawością nauka prowadzi do ważnych odkryć."

Przeczytanie książki "Mars. W poszukiwaniu życia" polecam astro-pasjonatom, fanom SF, poszukującym zrozumienia mechanizmów dochodzenia do prawdy naukowej i wszystkim ciekawym świata. Lektura z lekkiej na początku, przechodzi na końcu w dość detaliczną dyskusję zbliżającą się do nauki (no może do konferencyjnego referatu przeglądowego). Przez to chyba jej przyswajanie można sobie dawkować, docierając powoli do trudniejszych fragmentów, które ostatecznie warto poznać, bo pokazują zniuansowany proces uprawiania nauki współczesnej. Piękny i zrozumiały społecznie obraz świata wyłaniający się z nauki to konsekwencja wielu pomyłek, żmudnych rachunków, kontrowersji czyli zwrotów akcji. Czasem warto zobaczyć pośrednie etapy dochodzenia do konsensusu. To uodparnia na sensacyjność medialnych doniesień.

Polecam.

=====

[*] A&A - Astronomy and Astrophysics - jedno z najważniejszych czasopism o tematyce astrofizycznej; wspomniany artykuł jest dostępny na stronie: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/201...

[Gary Reger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mars. It's captivated us ever since we looked up into the night sky. Two ideas have dominated much thought about the Red Planet: whether it supports life and the prospect of colonizing. In Life on Mars David Weintraub explores both, in a somewhat schizophrenic approach. He first reviews older claims about life on the planet, including Percival Lowell's infamous insistence that he'd observed canals built by a putative socialist, planet-wide society. It's not entirely clear what these discredited notions have to do with "what to know before we go," as his subtitle puts in, except perhaps for those curious about the history of our ideas about Mars. The second part of the book looks at recent scientific controversies about matters like whether methane is present and, if so, its source, and the evidence for water. These chapter fit much better his putative purpose, to inform the general public about the challenges of visiting Mars and the possibility that the planet may now, or in the past, have sustained some kind of relatively simple life.

Insofar as extraterrestrial life is concerned, the recent, exciting announcement by a team of astronomers that they have confirmed the detection of dimethyl sulfide on K2-18b, a chemical produced on Earth only by living organisms, is now the closest we have come to detecting life on another planet. (It's no surprise, I reckon, that these results have been challenged. The jury's still out.) Mars remains in the realm of ambiguity.

The other big idea--travel to Mars and colonization--has been hyped by Elon Musk and his acolytes, who argue that rather than saving Earth from the ravages of climate change, the rich should just abandon our home planet and light out for the Martian territory. This idea is driven in part by utter ignorance of the history of colonization and the destruction wrought when people invade a new land and set up a simulacrum of their home society. Nor do Musk and his friends seem to have much notion about the practical difficulties of moving an entire society to another planet.

Before we contemplate going to Mars we should, we must, confront the ethical problems with such a plan. Do we have the right to take another planet for our own use? Why? The technical folks, far more interested in solving the engineering challenges, seem largely uninterested in these kinds of questions. As a model, one might look at the Moon, already littered with junk we left behind after our landings there.

[Amy Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book would be a preview of what life on Mars would be like for astronauts who travel there in the future. Instead, it is a history of the search for life on Mars, from early observations of markings described as canals, through the search for water vapor and then to the ongoing studies of methane in the Martian atmosphere.

The book was thorough, and it explained the scientific processes and experiments clearly, in language a layperson could understand. That doesn't mean it was a quick read. The charts and explanations of scientific methodology seemed dense at time, but they were necessary for the reader to understand the complexity and controversial nature of some findings and studies. The book gave me a new appreciation for the difficulties involved in answering what seems like a simple question: has there ever been life on Mars?

Interestingly, just as I finished the book, news broke about a new methane spike the rover Curiosity has detected. Scientists are cautious about speculating on what it means, and, after reading the history of methane detection, I understand why. A previous spike occurred in late 2013 and early 2014, and some scientists dismissed it as likely contamination. In light of this new spike, they may need to reevaluate that conclusion.

The only disappointment for me is that, instead of a book to foster support of space exploration, this volume ends with the author's opinion that Mars should not be explored yet, or, rather, not by means as intrusive as sending humans to the Martian surface. I disagree; I think the book proves that the best way to explore Mars is "boots and eyes on the ground." Astronauts on a well-equipped mission would have many more options for performing experiments and taking measurements. Maybe then, we'll be able to answer the question of life on Mars.

[Lynda Engler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longest science book I've read since high school! But I read it, cover to cover, so that says a lot. The book is a history of Martian planetary astronomy, that goes from the earliest views of the planet and supposition of canals engineered by intelligent Martians, to the latest (as far as 2018 when it was written) experiments to find methane or other signs of microbial life.

"Life on Mars" is a good title, but the subtitle, "What to Know Before We Go," might not be accurate. What to know about potential Martian life before we go would be more accurate. It doesn't cover any of the millions of OTHER things we would need to know about the planet before sending human explorers.

It's highly accessible science, but there are paragraphs of techno speak you can gloss over in all chapters after the first few.

Biggest thing I learned is that from the beginning, humans were predisposed to WANT to find life on Mars. And religion is part of the reason! The theory of Cosmic Pluralism, or the plurality of worlds, states that God created life on ALL heavenly bodies (even the sun) so he would have more beings to worship him. Therefore, life must exist everywhere in the universe. (This apparently goes back as far as the Ancient Greeks, c.650 BC).

Who knew? 😅

[Randall Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be disappointing, mainly because I think the title is quite misleading. This book is really a history of all of the "discoveries" of life on Mars, starting in the Middle Ages and going up to the most recent history with NASA's Mars rovers. While that was (somewhat) interesting, if overly detailed, I really expected the book to be about the complications of trying to find life on Mars, and what the criteria are for determining whether or not we've actually found either previous or current life. I also thought the author would discuss why a mission with humans going to Mars is necessary, in order to ensure that the criteria for determining "life" or "no life" are thoroughly tested. So, overall, while I did learn some interesting stuff along the way, this book was pretty dry (read not that well-written), and not really what I expected. I'd only recommend it if you really want to understand all the ins and outs of the various claims of life on Mars that have been made in the past.

[Michał Michałowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na Marsie istnieje życie. Inteligentne i o wiele bardziej zaawansowane od nas, które jest w stanie pokryć całą planetę siecią kanałów. Czerwone rośliny z oczami — tak, oczami — porastają kontynenty z górskimi szczytami, rwącymi rzekami i głębokimi jeziorami. Co takiego? Oczywiście nie jest prawda, ale wyobraźnia połączona z coraz lepszymi teleskopami, pozwoliła astronomom w XIX wieku stwierdzić z przekonaniem graniczącym z pewnością, że Czerwona Planeta musi i jest zamieszkana. O Marsie wydano dotychczas wiele książek, mniej lub bardziej naukowych, a we wrześniu na rodzimy rynek trafiła pozytywnie oceniana na świecie pozycja “Mars. W poszukiwaniu życia”. Jej autor David Weintraub, amerykański profesor astronomii, bierze na warsztat barwną i pełną zwrotów historię badania Czerwonej Planety.

Cała recenzja dostępna na https://weneedmore.space/zeglujac-po-...

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor David A. Weintraub, Professor of Astronomy at Vanderbilt University, presents an extensive examination of the history of the scientific study of Mars. From the days of the earliest telescopes, humans have been obsessed with Mars. He explains the progression of methods, theories, mistakes and breakthroughs by scientists through history.

Although understandable, even for a non-scientist like me, it can get technical and a little dry. Worth reading if you are interested in understanding more about scientific methods, papers, and the history of the study of Mars.

[Carlos Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and its history of the science about mars, if you are in for the thrill to get some data checked review about the history of the red neighbor, my rating is not due to the quality of the book which is good, but due to the "Click Bait" title, I can understand why, but still, was expecting a different content. At some point I got bored about the length of the different discussions, canals, type of martians, methane, etc; it is rigorous for a common human, could have been a bit lighter.

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and thought provoking, but more a history of wrong ideas and beliefs than what we should know before we go that the title implied.

[Arkrayder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was well researched but very dry.

[Grzesiek Gorzkiewicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ciekawe rozdziały historyczne, nużące te o nowszych czasach, zwłaszcza o metanie

[YOYO · Rating 1 out of 5]

horribly misleading title...third of the book is all you ever want to know about methane, the gas... blah....