From: gdpusch@NO.xnet.SPAM.com   
      
   "Blurrt"  writes:   
      
   > "V-Man"  wrote in message   
   > news:20030821011247.21183.00000309@mb-m10.aol.com...   
   >>> what is stopping   
   >>> us from creating a plant that could survive on the surafce of mars ?...   
   >>   
   >>   The impossibility of growing crops in sub-zero (0 degrees F) temperatures   
   >> and 60+ mph winds.   
   >   
   > Your answer is an assumption. The plant just has to produce its own   
   > antifreeze (as some do), be highly salt tolerant, and find a suitable niche   
   > on Mars in which to thrive.   
      
   All known life is water-based. There are practical limits to how far an   
   "antifreeze" can depress the freezing point of water, before it it is more   
   antifreeze than water. Martian night-time temperatures plummet to -140 C;   
   they are so cold that CO2 can freeze out of the atmosphere. Good luck   
   trying to find an "antifreeze" that will keep water frome freezing solid   
   at those temperatures. I think you will find that you will need to base   
   martian life on something other than water, unless it lives deep underground   
   --- in which case it is =NOT= going to be photosynthetic !!!   
      
      
   > It would be difficult. But not impossible. Nothing is impossible when humans   
   > are put to the challenge.   
      
   That oft-repeated claim is quite bluntly bull$#!+. There are numerous   
   things than are _PROVABLY IMPOSSIBLE_, e.g., solving the "Halting Problem"   
   or squaring a circle and trisecting an angle using only a compass and a   
   straightedge. Anyone who thinks otherwise is suffering from a combination   
   of profound ignorance and severe delusions of grandeur.   
      
      
   -- Gordon D. Pusch   
      
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