[HN Gopher] The Mysterious, Deep-Dwelling Microbes That Sculpt O...
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       The Mysterious, Deep-Dwelling Microbes That Sculpt Our Planet
        
       Author : benbreen
       Score  : 34 points
       Date   : 2024-06-30 21:37 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nytimes.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nytimes.com)
        
       | rapjr9 wrote:
       | So would this be a way to terraform Mars? It would take a few
       | million or billion years, but it would be cheap. There might be
       | ways to speed up the process, for example by introducing multiple
       | bacteria so you don't have to wait for them to evolve into the
       | necessary forms. Start the process near the poles where there is
       | some water. Would require the ability to dig deep holes on Mars.
       | Analyzing samples from the holes might help target the best
       | locations. A side benefit is that this might be a way to discover
       | existing bacterial life on Mars. If life once did exist on Mars,
       | underground seems a likely place for it to have retreated to.
        
         | suzzer99 wrote:
         | For all we know these critters got their start on Mars, then
         | hitched a ride to Earth on a meteor.
        
         | JohnMakin wrote:
         | > It would take a few million or billion years, but it would be
         | cheap.
         | 
         | Then of what practicality would it be? Humans will not exist in
         | a few million/billion years, at least not in their current
         | form.
        
           | interstice wrote:
           | Terraformed mars ready for our future corvid derived
           | successors?
        
           | darth_avocado wrote:
           | Hopefully we'll get Humans 2.0 on Mars in a few billion years
           | that re-evolved natively from microbes. And hopefully they're
           | wiser than us.
        
         | ProjectArcturis wrote:
         | You'd need a source of chemical energy. Here it's hydrogen
         | sulfide. Mars has very little volcanism, so it's unlikely these
         | microbes would find the energy they need.
        
       | throwup238 wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/V5LIm
       | 
       | Wikipedia has a photo of the Thiothrix fibers in an underwater
       | cave:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beggiatoa#/media/File:Beggiato...
        
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       (page generated 2024-07-02 23:01 UTC)