WILL we ever discover firm evidence of extraterrestrial life? This month NASA reported the strongest signs yet that water once flowed on the now dry surface of Mars. And while flowing water does not of course guarantee that life has evolved there, it certainly boosts the chances. So what next?
One way forward is for future missions to continue with the intended approach of the lost Beagle 2 and other Mars landers. This has been to look for the general footprints that all life is expected to leave behind: information-carrying polymers, molecules such as lipids and peptides, or chemical or…
