LETTERS: Funding for science found on Mars?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: What a relief to see Charles Arthur spoil the sport of those Martian enthusiasts ("Let the Martians come to us", 9 August).
I am an astronomer, and while my kind may enjoy greater public appeal than most other scientists (no mice, no BSE, lots of big colour pictures) we do get embarrassingly expensive at times. Whenever some $1bn extravagance winds up in the swamp, I find myself furtively avoiding those colleagues across the road in life sciences who are struggling for rat feed and wretched for a week if they crack a Pyrex flask.
However, Mr Arthur is unjust to paint us all as rabid alien-hunting trekkies: if there really are fossils on Mars, this discovery is as important to those unravelling life on Earth as it is to those who seek (or fear) it elsewhere. One of the great frustrations to those many scientific disciplines concerned with the origin and evolution of life on Earth is want of a comparison: we have, as yet, only one example of a life strategy and so it becomes terribly difficult to isolate those features of it which are indispensable and those which are not (could, for instance, some other system replace our genetic code?). To uncover an independent fossil record - or better, genetic code - would have fantastic impact upon many fields of research. But it is here that I must praise Mr Arthur for bringing us humbly back to Earth: we simply do not have the technological ability to usefully (let alone economically) mine for Martian fossils. There is plenty of work to be getting on with down here (which could do with some of that nice Martian money) even if it is not so glamorous or photogenic as a trip to Mars.
JUSTINE KELLER
Glasgow
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments