Sunil: the possibility of life having existed on Mars long ago (or at present) is most tantalizing, but we have to be patient and take things in stride. For the time being, we haven’t found any evidence of organisms on the red planet, past or present. Certainly more exploration of the surface (and below) will help put things in clearer perspective — and the missions planned in the near future should prove invaluable in that regard.

What I find most interesting about the imagery returned from Mars (like you mention) is that it reveals a landscape rather similar to our own — including strong evidence for a fair amount of water at one time, also volcanic activity in the distant past, sedimentation, layering, weathering and erosion… very familiar processes, just taking place on a planetary neighbor with some very different attrubutes. Further study of Mars will not only reveal additional clues about its past, but also tell us more about Earth and the other terrestrial planets in the process. That’s a very exciting aspect of planetary science.

:)
sunil

Thanks Wolve, I am relying on your blog more than I am looking at lots of sites. Somehow I trust you’ll come up with interesting stuff; I can’t seem to find the time to peruse everything lately, especially regarding politics (but that’s like a soap opera that one can pick up anytime, and the same actors are STILL doing the same silly things…not that I watch ‘em.)