"ected Sir/madam, Can u pls tell why NASA had stopped the Moon Mission after 1972??"
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Life as we know it, requires water. Are there any scientific reasons why water should be the only bearer of life; i.e. because of its properties?
In the case of carbon-based life (which is the only kind we can study), water is indeed unique: its nature as a polar compound, with the greatest ability of any solvent to dissolve a great variety of compounds, as well as the wide temperature range over which it is liquid and the fact that frozen water floats. Water is also composed of two of the most abundant elements in nature, and it is plentiful throughout the solar system (although much of it is frozen). While life might utilize other liquids, this would be surprising in view of the wide availability and many useful properties of water. In any case, the life we have on Earth requires water, and specifically liquid water. Hence the goal to "follow the water" when we explore other planets, such a Mars, from an astrobiological perspective. David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
February 3, 2006
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