Of the 11 attempted landings on Mars, only 4 have been successful up to now. In spite of the tantalizing idea that life might be found on Mars, mounting a successful mission there to resolve this mystery is not so easy. For all we know, life on one planet may have ''seeded'' life on another at some time. Indeed, given that the Martian rock being analyzed was found on Earth makes it clear that material is regularly exchanged between the planets. Seven years ago, analysis of a Martian meteorite found in Antarctica set scientists abuzz with the claimed discovery of fossilized evidence of microscopic life forms.Īlthough most scientists now view that evidence as suspect, the idea that some ancient life may have existed on Mars remains plausible. Scientists recognize that the climate of the barren planet was once quite different, with a denser, warmer atmosphere, as well as the possibility that liquid water may have flowed on its surface. The fascination with the possibility that life once existed on Mars is not restricted to literature and the movies. While we now know that this was merely an optical illusion because of the limited resolution of the available observation instruments, Lowell's statements prompted generations of books and movies speculating on Martian invasions of Earth. At the end of the 19th century, the American astronomer Percival Lowell detected what he was certain were ''canals'' on Mars that reflected an advanced industrial society.
Humanity has been fascinated by the possibility that life may have existed on Mars, our closest planetary neighbor, for as long as telescopes have allowed us to peer at its red surface.
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