Mars discovery generates a world of excitement at UW

By Sandi Doughton
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The best possible news would have been life on Mars.

But for members of the University of Washington's innovative astrobiology program, yesterday's "smoking gun" evidence that parts of the planet once were drenched with water was nearly as electrifying.

"To use the courtroom analogy, this is the prosecuting attorney coming in with fingerprints and DNA," said astronomy professor Woodruff Sullivan. "It's yet another indication that, hey, we're not kooks."

Sullivan is a founder of the UW program, the world's first to focus on life on other planets, as well as the origin and extremes of life on Earth. He and his colleagues were glued to the television as NASA scientists outlined their Mars findings in a news conference.

"I listened to every word."

Like most people in the program, Sullivan is optimistic scientists eventually will discover life elsewhere in the universe. The fact that Mars once had abundant, liquid water improves the odds that it could happen there.

"It's a necessary condition of life as we know it," he said.

But even the optimists admit that the discovery doesn't prove the Red Planet was ever swimming with microbes, let alone higher life forms.

Water was present on Earth long before life emerged, so it's possible that the liquid on Mars didn't persist long enough for life to take root, said microbiologist Jim Staley, who also teaches in the astrobiology program.

"I'm a 50-50 guy," Staley said. "But I think there's a probability that even if there isn't life on Mars today, there was life at some point."
 
Sean Raymond, one of about 15 doctoral students in the program, also has a gut feeling that microbes once flourished on Mars. But if not, he's certain earthlings aren't alone in the universe. It's that belief, along with a fascination for planets, that has led Raymond to enroll in a program that some academics might dismiss as science fiction.

Raymond studies the way planets form, trying to figure out how often one might blossom with the conditions conducive to life. His work suggests that it could happen frequently, and now the Mars rovers have shown that the Red Planet could have supported life — at least for a while.

"It's been a big question in astrobiology: Was there ever this warm, wet Mars?" he said. "They've certainly made a good case."

Like other students in the astrobiology program, Raymond's future career doesn't hinge on the discovery of extraterrestrial life. His planetary research can stand on its own. Classmates study subjects that range from bacteria in frigid or blistering hot environments to fossil microbes — relevant to life on other planets, but intriguing even on Earth.

Still, the discovery of life on Mars would provide a tremendous boost to the field and the morale of those who work in it, he said, just as yesterday's news is already sending a buzz through the community.

"Whenever everyone is excited about a particular field, it gets more funding, more people go to conferences, more people pay attention," Raymond said.

Sullivan hopes the exciting data streaming back from Mars will grab attention at the National Science Foundation, which funds the UW astrobiology program.

"I'm just putting in an application for money," he said. "I will certainly mention these new results right at the top."

Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491

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