"is it possible that humans could start to live on the moon? Such as start colonies there?"
-
Question
What effects would low gravity have on the evolution of life, specifically on Europa?
We don't know very much about how gravity effects evolution, since all life on Earth evolved in a constant gravity of 1 g. Of course, marine and aquatic organisms that float in water do not experience gravity the way we do (which is presumably also the case for Europa). In addition, very small life forms such as microbes are insensitive to gravitational forces (even something as large as a fly can walk up walls and accross a ceiling). But gravity can be important for an ensemble of microbes, such as a microbial mat, where light gases such as hydrogen migrate upward through the colony of microbes.The influence of gravity thus depends on other aspects of the environment. Some astrobiologists look forward to the opportunity to study the way life reacts to long exposure to zero g (in space) or low g (on the Moon and Mars), but most of these experiments have not been done yet.
David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
May 5, 2004
- How frequently are questions answered?
- I asked a question but there was no answer?
- Who is the Astrobiologist answering these questions?
- Will I get an email when my question is answered?
- What college courses should I take to become an astrobiologist?
- How can I get a job as an astrobiologist at NASA?
- Have aliens visited Earth? Are UFOs real?
- Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?
- Is it true that the Sun will be in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy in December 2012 and that this will cause a pole shift and massive destruction.
- Has NASA discovered life on other worlds?
- Astrobiology Career Path Suggestions
