Quote:
Originally Posted by CraigS
"How much significance does the presence of these 'models' add to the credibility of a hypothetical discovery of long chain organic molecules (LCOMs) in a 'habitable zone' (HZ), should such a discovery occur ... and why?
For example: Would a discovery of exo-LCOMs in an HZ, mean anything without theories like Szostack's, and evidence such as Stardust's coma sample ? If these do carry some significance, and add enough 'weight' to the situation, perhaps significant enough to justify say, a manned mission to Mars, then does a 'non-discovery' of an LCOM in an HZ carry the same weight ? And if so, what could possibly be the consequences of a non-discovery (or multiple non-discoveries) ?
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Well - from a purely objective point of view, until we know the exact mechanism by which life or 'proto' life came into being, we don't even know whether these types of molecules
were required at the very beginning or whether life just took advantage of them once it had come into being. So finding these molecules on Mars will just add to the complexity of the speculation.
From a more human point of view it would be fantastic to find them, and will certainly be a leverage point for more funding!
Adam