Posted by tourdemars to Life on Mars at March 31, 2004 11:51 AM

If a Mars rover bumped into signs of life on Mars, would it know it — and would that life look anything like life here on Earth? Geological and remote readings have suggested life may exist on Mars and some think it's highly possible that NASA's Odyssey or Spirit could have stumbled across evidence. Planetary scientists also say if primitive life exists on Mars, it could very well share traits with life on Earth. "There is transport from Mars to Earth by meteorites," said Jason Dworkin, a biochemist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. "So it's reasonable to suggest that perhaps we're all Martians and life started on Mars and traveled to Earth."