What would happen if humans discovered life on Mars? Human society may not be able to withstand it

There is no doubt that among all the extraterrestrial planets, Mars is the one that interests humans the most. Once upon a time, Martians were almost synonymous with aliens.

Since humans have acquired the ability to leave Earth, they have never stopped exploring Mars. Today, Mars has become the planet that humans know best besides Earth, even better than the Moon. Humans are eager to learn about Mars and find traces of life on Mars, but what would happen if humans really discovered life on Mars one day? Human society may lack the corresponding tolerance.

Human society may lack the resilience to support life on Mars. This statement was not made by me, but by Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division.

Jim Green said in an interview in 2019: We have some important conclusions about Martian life to announce, but what worries him is that once the discovery of Martian life is announced, human society may not be able to bear it. Jim Green's words are a bit confusing. Aren't we looking forward to discovering Martian life? Why do you say that human society lacks the corresponding tolerance? Mars and Martian life are of extraordinary significance to humans. Let's talk about Mars first. Although there are many planets in the universe, most of them are far away from the earth. Looking around the earth, Mars is undoubtedly the most similar to the earth.

If humans want to find a place to live outside the Earth, Mars is the undisputed first choice.

Compared to Venus, whose surface environment is like hell, Mars is indeed more worthy of research. Since 1960, humans have launched more than 50 Mars probes to Mars in the past 60 years. Although less than half of the probes have been completed, the enthusiasm for Mars exploration has never cooled down, and these explorations have indeed achieved certain results. Now we know that Mars once had liquid water, and it is very likely that rivers and lakes were formed, which makes us more expectant about the existence of life on Mars.

Is there life on Mars? Has there been in the past? Is there still life on Mars now?

We cannot give definite answers to these questions yet, because our knowledge of Mars is still relatively limited, but if life is finally confirmed on Mars, it may cause a certain degree of shock to human society. From a practical perspective, humans have always regarded Mars as a future place to live, and want to build a base on Mars, or even transform Mars into a new habitable planet. However, if life is discovered on Mars, then the idea of ​​migrating to Mars will not be possible.

Why can’t we migrate to Mars if we discover life on it?

Because it would no longer be a simple immigration, but a colonization, and it also means that humans cannot arbitrarily transform Mars. Judging from the current conditions on Mars, it is not suitable for Earth life to survive. If there is life on Mars, it will be a completely different kind of life from what we have known in the past. If we transform Mars, it will destroy the original environment. Of course, the biggest shock caused by the discovery of life on Mars is not here, but on the spiritual level of human beings.

Although humans have always fantasized about the existence of alien life, if this is really confirmed, many people may still find it difficult to accept it. This is just like the impact of heliocentrism in the era when people believed in geocentrism.

In the hearts of many people, they always think that they are unique, the Earth is unique, and if there is life on Mars, it means that life is very common in the universe. We are not as "special" as we think. We are just like a leaf or a speck of dust, which is insignificant and will eventually disappear forever in the endless river of time. However, we will not stop because of this. Exploring the unknown mysteries may be the innate mission of human beings.

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