That's Nuts!
Hi All
The whole point of going to Mars and getting a sample return is to look for life not its rad-blasted remains. And what about the Andromeda Strain scenario - what if Mars life is really weird and it LIKES ionising radiation???
If our procedures work here they will work there if the bugs are biochemical in nature - and I've personally no doubt that they'll be genetically related to our kind of life. If they're something radically different then I don't see how we can stop them, but I also doubt they'll do us much harm.
As for Luddism... well Life is about risk - if we can't hack it then we should shrivel up and die before the Control Freaks take over!
Adam