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Comment by curiousgeorgio | Hacker News Reader

I'm glad they're careful not to oversell this finding, but it's a little discouraging how far we are from the phrase we want to hear:

"Mars has life"

"We've found past life on mars"

"Rover finds past life on mars"

"Rover finds hints of past life on mars"

"Rover detects hints of past life on mars"

"Rover detects carbon signature that hints of past life on mars"

"Rover detects carbon signature that may hint of past life on mars"

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Not for me. Behind all those hedges is where the intrigue lies! I'd rather that than overselling a thrice-maybe as a positive.

You would have to look for evidence of life in the first place if you wanted to find it. None of the rovers we have on Mars right now have the right instruments to do so. Exomars' Rosalnd Franklin will be the first.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/in-depth/

    Viking 1
    
    July 20, 1976: Lander touched down
    
    Scientific Instruments
    
    Lander
    1. Imaging System (2 facsimile cameras)
    2. Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS)
    3. Seismometer
    4. X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
    5. Biological Laboratory
    6. Weather Instrument Package (Temperature, Pressure, Wind Velocity)
    7. Remote Sampler Arm

>"Rover detects carbon signature that may hint of past life on mars"

If you expand the list to include all the geological stuff Spirit/Oportunity, Pathfinder and Viking found then slap a "you are here" on it we are much closer to the "earth" end of things than the "dead rock" end of things.

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