Hi Guys

Since rocks from Mars reach Earth rather easily and microbes can survive impacts, then it's likely any "Martians" will be Archaeal strains we're related to. Every deep sea fishing net drags up denizens from an "alien world" probably as remotely related as anything on Mars - and we're yet to see an Ebola-like virus emerge from any such sample.

EP's agenda is as blatant and trite, as always, but I would love more money to be thrown at small body studies rather than "astrobiology" on Mars. Someone in control of the purse strings might finally realise there's resources to be harvested from the NEAs instead of Mars.

And who knows? One day an incoming comet will be exosolar in origin - wouldn't you want us to be prepared to intercept something as exceptionally rare as a visitor from another star?