never mind just contemplate existing - is "contemplate" a verb here?

[GoodTaste]

But, what about something which we could not even imagine, never mind just contemplate existing? Thinking off the planet Earth, astronomers looking at meteorites, comets and other planets have identified silicon dioxides and silicates - but no evidence of silicones or silanes which are the better potential biochemical precursors. So, at the moment, there is also no evidence of a new silicon-based life form which is outwith our experience or imagination.
Source

Is "never mind just contemplate existing" grammatical? It seems to me the author tends to say "never mind - let's just contemplate its existing". I am not absolutely sure.

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[teechar]

Is "never mind just contemplate existing" grammatical?

Yes, it is.

It seems to me the author tends to say "never mind - let's just contemplate its existing". I am not absolutely sure.

No. It's a language device used for emphasis. Take a look at the second entry in the link below.

never mind

1. used to tell someone not to worry about something because it is not…

dictionary.cambridge.org

You might also be interested in "let alone ..."

let alone

1. used after a negative statement to emphasize how unlikely a situation is…

dictionary.cambridge.org

 

[GoodTaste]

Sould there is a comma after "never mind"?
Does "just contemplate existing" mean "just think about the possibility of the existence of silicon-based life form"?

 

[jutfrank]

There's definitely something wrong with it, in my opinion. The writer wants to use existing as complement of both imagine and contemplate ( ... something we could not even imagine/contemplate existing). I think an extra comma, or dashes, or better yet some brackets, would fix it:

But what about something which we could not even imagine (never mind just contemplate) existing?

 

[emsr2d2]

There should be a comma after "contemplate", or the brackets shown in jutfrank's post #4.