Biology
Scientific paper
Jan 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998mmws.work...49s&link_type=abstract
Workshop on the Issue Martian Meteorites: Where do we Stand and Where are we Going?, p. 49
Biology
Extraterrestrial Life, Mars Surface, Microorganisms, Water, Exobiology, Mars (Planet), Viking Mars Program, Mars Atmosphere, Mars Volcanoes, Oxygen Compounds
Scientific paper
The search for evidence of life has become the driving force behind NASA's Mars exploration program. At present, however, the evidence that Mars once harbored life is controversial, and our understanding of how to search for better evidence is rudimentary. A search might be based on the following assumptions: At a minimum, life requires biogenic elements, liquid water, and a biologically useful source of energy. Other requirements are possible as well, but just these simple ones can help to narrow the search significantly. The goals of the search should include both ancient and extant life. Because liquid water is now absent near Mars' surface, it may be a reasonable strategy to search for evidence of ancient life first and evidence of extant life subsequently. Ancient life forms, if they existed at all, are most likely to have been simple, microbial forms. The same is probably true for extant life. The best approach to searching for evidence of ancient life is probably to look for organic materials. Organics of biological origin may be less open to ambiguous interpretations than putative microfossils, and they have the added virtue of potentially containing important information about prebiotic processes if life never arose.
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