Whatever Viking found is what it. I hope we'll gather more scientific analysis in the future.

What we become while searching for life is another thing.

Evolution, whatever you'd like to call it, if it's devoid of our humanity in most ways... our objective would have been in vain. All they'd have to go by is our history and what we were able to accomplish. Sure, they'll have an idea of our essence, but it's not entirely the same thing.

It would be a sad thing if another being that still has it's 'wits' about it encounters us and we're no longer there.

Life is life, it is what it is.

"We don't have yet an acceptable definition for the word "life".
And that leaves open all kinds of possibilities. Since 1976 (Viking) we've discovered extremophiles on Earth but do they need acceptable conditions, reproduce themselves and later get adapted to conditions very different from the initial ones, or did they, from the start, live and thrive in the same extreme environment?
No answer yet....just questions."

They are microbial! They are alive and have found a way to live, therefore they are a lifeform, IMHO.

Questions? On Earth, we have the answers, yes, they're alive. Elsewhere, the questions still persist.