Colonizing Mars means contaminating Mars – and never knowing for sure if it had its own native life
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 - 10:10
in Astronomy & Space
The closest place in the universe where extraterrestrial life might exist is Mars, and human beings are poised to attempt to colonize this planetary neighbor within the next decade. Before that happens, we need to recognize that a very real possibility exists that the first human steps on the Martian surface will lead to a collision between terrestrial life and biota native to Mars.