I for one look forward to the day that a Martian extremophile is discovered under Mars’ surface. A subterranean multicellular organism is very likely to exist in many different places in our own solar system.

And the thought of cavernous regions underneath Olympus Mons is so tantalizing. If ground penetrating radar reveals spaces within that huge volcano, then I expect a high probability of liquid water to be there…and life not very far off

Cheers

That said, I hope the paper has some nontrivial support for its implications (but also for “more later” on that topic). I’m getting tired of the media hair trigger on this.

It’s as cold and dead as it has always been.

And the observations supporting this, in either time frame, are what? Earth conditions seems likely to have been “extreme” compared with today when life started here – and AFAIU most abiogenesis hypotheses thrives on this for reasons of free energy et cetera.

Sure, warmer places would be more likely to have life, but if Mars has life, then it’s probably damn near everyplace that’s even remotely habitable. To me that’s the fuss/significance. It would also be fascinating to verify that it was unlike any life on Earth, confirming independent abiogenesis.

For example, we saw recent reports of water vapor in Mercury’s vicinity (not to say “atmosphere”) with no discussion at all of whether the signal could be interpreted as chlorine.

I would welcome reports “from inside” on the experience of this institutional pressure.

I’m not saying it’s totally impossible. Just extremely unlikely. Atmospheric and temperature conditions are, and were, just too extreme to seriously consider the possibility.

A far more likely place to find life is one of the moons of Jupiter or Saturn. Or maybe even the planets themselves. But Mars? It’s as cold and dead as it has always been.