Earth, Mars Similarities Fuel Speculation About Life

Of course some people (well one anyway) prefer to base their beliefs about Mars on studies done early in the last century and others on the most widely rejected research they can find.

"The current Martian surface environment is extremely hostile to any known form of life, said Carlton Allen, an astrobiologist and curator of astromaterials at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

On Mars, a wicked combination of subfreezing temperature, low atmospheric pressure and high ultraviolet flux, combined with dried out and possibly oxidizing soil, makes it tough for even the hardiest microorganisms to survive, Allen said."

"But Martian life may be a refuge from its own world, lurking in safe havens on the planet. Here on Earth, microbial life has been detected in hydrothermal systems, lakes, caves and subsurface aquifers. On Mars, one of those havens might be the planet's polar caps."

Regards,
Mark