So, apparently, some unusual methane plumes have been detected on Mars --the kind of methane plumes less associated with volcanic activity and more associated with LIFE. This is very exciting news indeed, but for now I'm approaching the subject with cautious skepticism. The stir over alien life within our solar system, however, is just too tantalizing to ignore!
Discover Magazine
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I'm of the cynical opinion that they will find life on Mars because they want to find life on Mars so very, very badly.
I'm also of the cynical opinion that mankind has contaminated Mars since the fourth-quarter of the 20th century with Martian probes and satellites, and most recently Martian rovers, each of which has doubtless had some sort of Terran microbe stowaway onboard! And thus introducing "xenobiotic" lifeforms to the Martian landscape. Granted, yes, one does wonder if a methanogen introduced to Mars in 1979 could have possibly grown so numerous in count by now as to produce detectable methane plumes; but my point is simply that doubt has been introduced, and that's a shame.
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