Frankly, I'm saddened by the absence of anything positive being reported so far regarding the possibility of life on Mars at any time. I realize there is MUCH more to be done, and other sites, H2O at the poles, and so on, and it seems to me NASA took two very good shots and isn't reporting any trace of a big find. And the rovers aren't particularly busy in any one area confirming data, as I would expect if they had found something.

It's true they may be saving all of that to avoid too much preliminary speculation. (They didn't do that with the Mars meteorites, though.)

However, if these and the next generation of rovers reveal that Mars is and has been one big rock with no possibility of life as we know it ever, does anyone believe there will be a manned mission in this century?

What would be a strong enough rationale to justify the expense v. robots? (Besides being kinda fun?)

Arf (I was SURE they'd find evidence of life on Mars in my lifetime. Maybe they will, yet.)