What would be the best proof of life on Mars?
ANSWER As the search for any hints of life on Mars continues with the 2004-6 exploration by the MER Rovers, described on the next two pages, attention back on Earth is being fixed around environments where levels of life (see page 20-12 for an overview of this topic as applies to planets in general) may be controlled by environments that may have counterparts on Mars. Extremophile environments like oceanic “black smokers” and the Antarctic both support life. The only place on Earth where almost no life whatsoever (including microbial) has been discovered is the central region of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. This place will likely become a testing ground for life-searching robotic equipment and life form-identifying software (NASA ASTEP program) that will apply techniques for pattern recognition of morphological objects in the martian rocks of a suspicious nature as conceivable evidence of organisms. Here is a view of hills in the Atacama which, except for the dark skys, certai
