http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/searching-for-life-in-martian-water-will-be-very-very-tricky/ The 2nd can be found here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-nasa-too-worried-about-contaminating-mars/

Read the two articles on the document linked here. The first article can also be found on this URL link:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/searching-for-life-in-martian-water-will-be-very-very-tricky/ The 2nd can be found here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-nasa-too-worried-about-contaminating-mars/

Mars Homework Questions to answer.

1.    Is there life on mars?  If you don’t know, look up the Wikipedia article “Life on Mars” or find another source.  Answer the question with a paragraph or two of thoughtful detail.

2.    The first article states that “The easiest way to find life on Mars, it turns out, may be to import bacteria from Cape Canaveral”.  Explain what is meant by this statement.  In light of this statement, and what you read in article 2, do you wish to change your answer to question 1, or add to it?

3.    Name 2 ways earth’s microbes might contaminate Mars, as described in either of the two articles.

4.    Who is Carl Sagan?  If you don’t know who he is, look him up on Wikipedia, or on youtube.  (“pale blue dot” is a nice little speech that has been rendered many times on youtube, such as this example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g)  Talk about his scientific and/or historical/cultural importance.

5.    Summarize, compare, and contrast the arguments made by Carl Sagan, and the arguments presented in article 2.  Then, answer the question:  how careful should we be as we explore Mars, looking for life?