Curiosity, microbes, observing.

curiosityatsandshadow

A recent study of swabs taken from the rover before it launched found its surfaces contained 65 bacteria species. Engineers are supposed to put spacecraft like Curiosity through a stringent cleaning regimen before launch. Yet certain species of bacteria are known to survive even NASA’s cleanrooms. Wondering about what remained on Curiosity even after cleaning, scientists from the University of Idaho and California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory swabbed different parts of the rover before sending it off. After gathering and characterizing their bacteria, the scientists exposed them to harsh conditions, including desiccation, ultraviolet light exposure, extreme cold and extreme pH levels. About 11 percent of the bacterial strains they found survived at least two conditions. (1)

The premise that we can observe something without affecting it is one of the major dogmas of science today.
Destroying that illusion it is the first step towards the truth.
Realizing that observing something is what makes that something exist is the next step.

Towards understanding what is in front of our eyes.
Which is actually behind them.
Inside our minds I mean.
Well, you know what I mean.
Observe me well.
I am here.
Close your eyes.
I am gone.

Mars here we come!

Mars exploration, culture preservation, priorities…

Creating a permanent human settlement on Mars by 2025 will require serious training. To prepare its future astronauts for the task, the Netherlands-based private spaceflight project Mars One announced its plans to construct Earth-based outposts that replicate the cramped, isolated, crazy-making conditions of a Red Planet colony. (1)

Such projects makes one realize we are having all the wrong priorities. We spend so much time considering what to do with preserving life, that we have forgotten what life is. What is most important in such a mission is not the oxygen supply, but the systems or processes that will keep astronauts sane. The systems or processes that will preserve our culture even when we are going to another planet.

Culture preservation “systems”.
Psychology preservation “systems”.
Life preservation systems.

In descending order of importance…

After all, what is meaning to colonize a different world only as a lifeless set of flesh and bones? It is the culture of Parmenides and Aristotle that Mars needs, not our dead lifeless bodies.

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