"Would fossil stromatolites or any other signs of bacterial activity be detectable on Mars using the existing probes and landers?"
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Question
If life was found on Mars, would the risk of alien infections mean it would be too dangerous to bring it back to Earth for examination.
It is extremely unlikely that any life on Mars would be harmful to terrestrial life. Indeed, if Mars does have life and it had an independent origin, it is probable that Mars life and Earth life could co-exist without being aware of the other life form. Still, it is better to be safe than sorry. Therefore NASA has established a policy that any samples returned from Mars will be treated as potentially harmful until proven safe. Returned samples will be carefully sealed and isolated from the terrestrial environment. We must bring them back it Earth, however, to be able to study them in sufficient detail to determine if there is any evidence of present or past life. For more information on planetary protection policies, see the following websites:
http://spacescience.nasa.gov/adv/PPACCharter.htm
http://planpro.jpl.nasa.gov/fctshtss.htm
http://www.astrobiology.com/protection.html
March 18, 2003
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