Colonizing Mars & Organic Matter in Space

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On Mars, scientists have been finding evidence of early stages of a developing ecosystem since 2014.  This brings us to Elon Musk’s recent SpaceX launch and his future plans for Mars – that is, colonization.  So, if we were to colonize Mars, do we have safeguards in place to protect its burgeoning ecosystem?  Scientists want to avoid contamination of the planet with harmful microorganisms and to that end, they would probably develop settlement “zones” to contain human and foreign biological contamination on Mars.

Organic matter from space has been showing up more often on space scientists’ radar.  Formerly a highly disputed area of study, “panspermia“, or the movement of organic matter through outer space, was thought to be mere fiction, with most mainstream scientists saying that nothing could survive in space.  While panspermia is still just a theory, it is increasingly supported by research and study.

New research shows that not only can organic matter survive when traveling through space on comets or asteroids, it can then integrate itself into the planet or moon’s existing ecosystem.  Of course, we have had the theory of the Big Bang for a while, and so it’s strange that it’s taken scientists so long to accept that perhaps organisms are still hitchhiking from planet to planet.

Findings from high atmosphere balloons have continually supported the transmission of space organisms into our own stratosphere – organisms that don’t exist on earth.  Of course, as with all scientific theory, there are skeptics.

Recent discoveries of organic matter on Ceres and Mars brings the theory of organic transmission between planets to the forefront of scientific thought.  Scientists theorize that the matter on Ceres was generated on-planet, which suggest that Ceres may have been “seeded” with organisms in the distant past and has been developing its own ecosystem.

So what do you think?  Is it ok to colonize Mars and possibly disrupt its ecosystem development? Or, if panspermia is more than a theory, does this give people the right to move from planet to planet?  Let me know on Facebook.