ExoMars to search for life

[link]

Quote:

"Establishing whether life ever existed on Mars is one of the outstanding scientific questions of our time and the highest scientific priority of the ExoMars programme."

I am the ultimate lurker on this site as I almost never post.
I think that it would be a much easier task to look for and find existing life on mars than to try to prove that there was life there billions of years ago.

Stan

Stan, be careful, thinking rational can be dangerous. j/k

For me the best thing about this mission is a 2 m drill when you go that far down you might possibly drill into damp soil or water ice. The ExoMars landing site will be selected from data gleaned by the Trace Gas Orbiter on the Methane releases and where it is actually coming from and that will be the eventual target. The biggest challenge will be ensuring ExoMars is completely sterile and devoid of Earth bugs this will be the first since Viking I and II. We know there is life on Mars because we have brought it there!

As we search the equatorial source of methane, we will probably be near the Vallis Marineris, I assume. As there are many strong fault movement indicators in the imaging showing severe stressed and compressed rocks in the subunits there, how would we select a good target to land at in that area? If we are distinguishing between alteration/slick'n slide zones with faulting and mineral alteration as a possible source for the gas, can there be a reasonable landing spot where a life source might be found? Lots of sand/dunes/slopes, and irregular features, but where are the sediment spots that are exposed and not a steep slope or deep particulates?
Serpentine was identified on Mars and is written to release the gas under stress/alteration (on Earth).

Sounds like a tough seeking of a needle in the various gorges and even then how would a drill that large work on a slope?

All part of the developing process, in any planet or landscape. Many bodies may be checked eventually, if Mars allows a first try with success for the equipment.

I never really understood the graphic showing distribution, of the gas. It was written to be greatest along the Marineris valley system, yet that area was or is active geologically. I thought the graphic showed wider distribution. ?

As we search the equatorial source of methane, we will probably be near the Vallis Marineris, I assume. As there are many strong fault movement indicators in the imaging showing severe stressed and compressed rocks in the subunits there, how would we select a good target to land at in that area? If we are distinguishing between alteration/slick'n slide zones with faulting and mineral alteration as a possible source for the gas, can there be a reasonable landing spot where a life source might be found? Lots of sand/dunes/slopes, and irregular features, but where are the sediment spots that are exposed and not a steep slope or deep particulates?
Serpentine was identified on Mars and is written to release the gas under stress/alteration (on Earth).

Sounds like a tough seeking of a needle in the various gorges and even then how would a drill that large work on a slope?

All part of the developing process, in any planet or landscape. Many bodies may be checked eventually, if Mars allows a first try with success for the equipment.

I never really understood the graphic showing distribution, of the gas. It was written to be greatest along the Marineris valley system, yet that area was or is active geologically. I thought the graphic showed wider distribution. ?

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Tried to post this earlier today, but it 'vaporized'. Second try.

Dana, what do you think about the pressure difference between the surface and at the bottom of vallis marineris? is it significant? enough for liquid water to be there in pools? perhaps flowing even from some underground source. could there be small streams still flowing at that deep level? or would the pressure difference not be enough? I mean if we already have flowing water on the slopes of canyons now from time to time, how about miles deep in that valley? I think mars will be full of surprises, if we ever get there besides the occasional rover every 10 years. I still can not believe that from 1976, we did almost nothing until 1997 with the little R.C. car

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1303/16exomars

Russian-European agreement signed.