
Is there life on Mars? Paper answers “maybe” - bollu
http://journalofastrobiology.com/Mars5.html
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bollu
I'd like to understand some things: 1\. How reputed is this journal? 2\. If
this is "true" (as in, the paper is well written), how come I haven't seen
this being picked up anywhere? 3\. What next?

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southern_cross
There have been potential hints of life on Mars since at least the 1970s. But
at this point, even if life were actually confirmed there it might be less a
matter of "Oh great, we've found life on Mars!" and more a matter of "Oh crap,
we've contaminated Mars!" Which is probably why any discussions of it are
still being kept relatively low key.

That said, if these are puffballs or whatever then it would be trivial to
touch one of them just to see what happens. A puffball or other living thing
will probably mostly collapse when touched, but a rock or whatever won't. One
wonders if NASA has actually tried this yet. And if not, why not.

