NASA says its Mars rover Spirit has discovered "the best evidence yet" of a past habitable environment on the planet's surface. Spirit has been exploring a plateau called Home Plate, where it discovered silica-rich soil in May. Researchers are now trying to determine what produced the patch of nearly pure silica - the main ingredient of window glass. They believe the deposits came from an ancient hot-spring environment or an environment called a fumarole, in which acidic steam rises through cracks. On Earth, both of these types of settings teem with microbial life, said rover chief scientist Steve Squyres. "Whichever of those conditions produced it, this concentration of silica is probably the most significant discovery by Spirit for revealing a habitable niche that existed on Mars in the past," he said. "The evidence is pointing most strongly toward fumarolic conditions, like you might see in Hawaii and in Iceland. "Compared with deposits formed at hot springs, we know less about how well fumarolic deposits can preserve microbial fossils. That's something needing more study here on Earth." Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity have remained on Mars for much longer than originally planned.

Their mission has been extended five times since they landed on opposite sides of the planet in January 2004. But the rovers faced their biggest challenge yet this summer, when a series of dust devils blanketed their solar panels and limited their movement. Winds managed to clean off Opportunity, but Spirit is still covered in gunk and working at 42 per cent capacity.

View: Full Article | Source: The Telegraph

Would be great if they could somehow discover fossils with better rovers or maybe a manned mission. Maybe the search for life is not as far as we think.

Wonder how hotly debated any fossils of microbes they find will be by the religious community.

WOOOOO!!!!!!! Time to pack my bags!
Haha, man, these discoveries are pretty amazing.


oops

Whoa, nice, but I do believe that we won't be going up to soon dogma -.-'

look for the stargate first then we will be in buisness

i think a manned mission would be a good idea, but i think they need to keep in mind that dust storms can be lethal and they have to be prepared for anything, they could also possibly bring back disease which is another risk.

Final News Story on Earth:

In an ironic ending to the Mars Exploration Project...the microbial life that we sought to understand is expanding and growing and killing the planet with such speed and precision that in just a few short seconds all life will have utterly vanis

The discovery of a fossil or a living thing in outer space or on another planet will change mankind profoundly. I think that's the turning point people are waiting for and looking forword to.

That's the problem with science: you can show evidence for, but never actually prove something.

TeraLink Was Here!

I Believe in life on Mars! Check out this http://groups.msn.com/WeNotAloneUniverse/lifeonmars.msnw

and what if the rovers or any Mars mission, finds relics of past Martian life?
Man is entering into a zone of finding his roots and Martian finds are a part of it possibly..Mars was an Earth once..many years ago....like billions....with water and blue skies and temporate climate. and today, the length of the Martian day and axis tilt is soooo much like Earth....was this an Earth of the past? Just my worthless opinion...