Had they finished forming at the same time?

[TransformerRobot]

All the planets in our solar system formed at the same time 4.5 billion years ago.

 

However, does this mean they all went through the same evolutionary periods at the same times? What if Mars finished forming before Earth, and Venus after Earth? Maybe Venus is still developing?

[Ophiolite]

Formation of planets, in this context, is taken to mean at what time they reached close to their current masses. The evidence points to this having occured within a period measured in tens of millions of years, rather than hundreds of millions, or only a couple of million. In that regard, over the lifetime of the system, they pretty well all formed at the same time.

 

Is Venus still developing? Well, yes, but so is the Earth and Mars and Mercury. And the outer planets. Change is the only constant.

[TransformerRobot]

So maybe in another thousand years, whatever bacteria is on Mars would evolve into something capable of living there?

[Delta1212]

We don't know if there are any bacteria(-like forms of life) on Mars, but if there were, they would already have evolved into something that could live there by virtue of the fact that they were living there.

[Ophiolite]

So maybe in another thousand years, whatever bacteria is on Mars would evolve into something capable of living there?

I am not sure what you mean. If there are any bacteria on Mars, then they are already capable of living there. Contrary to popular understanding, bacteria are complex organisms.

 

Perhas you mean that, in time, these bacteria could evolve into even more complex, multi-cellular organisms. If that is what you meant, then no. The environment either is capable of supporting such organisms now, in which case they would be there; and one thousand years is insufficient time, by several orders of magnitude, for such evolution to take place.

[TransformerRobot]

So there wouldn't be such a thing as fully evolved life on Mars until after we're gone?

[Ophiolite]

Again, i really don't understand what you are getting at. Here are some points.

 

1. It is unlikely there is life on Mars. If there is no life on Mars it is very unlikely to develop there at any time in the future.

 

2. If there is life on Mars it almost certainly comparable with single celled organisms on Earth. In manymillions of years time it will not change in any significant way, beacuse the Martian environment will not change in any significant way.

 

3. Therefore, regardless of whether or not we are here it is unlikely that anything will hav ;fully evolved' on Mars.

 

4. Fully evolved does not make any sense. You seem to have the false idea that humans are more evolved than bacteria. They are not. You need a very specific and msileading definition of evolution for that to be true. I can expand on this point if you wish.

[TransformerRobot]

By fully evolved I meant capable of the same things as human beings.

 

Wouldn't we see life on Mars if we figured out how to colonize it?

[Airbrush]

Not all life evolves to become intelligent and technological as humans are. Even on Earth, only humans evolved that way. For example sharks and cockroaches have been around for hundreds of millions of years and have STILL not evolved intelligence and technology.

 

There could be life on Mars, but only if we terriform it so life could survive there.

[TransformerRobot]

Terra-forming may be a long and expensive process, but it will likely pay off in the end. Our own population on Earth has become overcrowded, so we might need another planet for extra living space.

[Ophiolite]

Terra-forming may be a long and expensive process, but it will likely pay off in the end. Our own population on Earth has become overcrowded, so we might need another planet for extra living space.

If we actually were an intelligent species we would solve that problem by restricting population growth and then, for a time, reversing it. A simple calculation would show you how long it would take a small colony to overrun the entire planet. (With a starting population of around 10,000 and a plausible growth rate it takes less than 700 years. That is instantaneous in evolutionary, cosmological and geological terms.)

[Airbrush]

If we actually were an intelligent species we would solve that problem by restricting population growth and then, for a time, reversing it. A simple calculation would show you how long it would take a small colony to overrun the entire planet. (With a starting population of around 10,000 and a plausible growth rate it takes less than 700 years. That is instantaneous in evolutionary, cosmological and geological terms.)

 

Already humans in developed nations are having less children. It will take a few Billion more people on Earth and some news attention to how bad things are getting with overpopulation before nations put on the breaks and make too many kids illegal, like China did. But we should not cut back too much or there won't be enough young people around to pay for, and take care of, us oldies.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Airbrush