
Looking for Life on Mars? Start with Microbes in Antarctica - rbanffy
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/life-on-mars-antarctica-microbes?utm_content=bufferaaf51&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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briga
Given the general resiliency of certain extremophiles and how similar the
early environments of Earth and Mars were I would be surprised if we didn't
find some sort of fossil evidence of microbial life on Mars. The question is
whether or not it will be genetically related to the microbes that evolved in
Earth's early history.

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autokad
we already have found that through a mars meteorite,

edit: sort of. i guess its not 100% conclusive:
[https://www.space.com/33690-allen-hills-mars-meteorite-
alien...](https://www.space.com/33690-allen-hills-mars-meteorite-alien-
life-20-years.html)

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dekhn
Scientifically, there is no case there.

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autokad
the case against it is stronger, but by no means "Scientifically, there is no
case there."

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autokad
it sounds like finding an earth meteorite on mars would be a huge scientific
discovery, because we could look back on early earth

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dekhn
tons of material is exchanged between the planets annually. It's a sampling
problem; you just need enough rovers with detection equipment that can
discriminate between the two (not trivial, but totally possible with
spectrometry). However, the rock is likely to be contaminated and need careful
analysis to be convincing. Easier to just get said rock where it already is
found on earth.

