The search for life on Mars--and the moral issues confronting us as we prepare to send humans there. Does life exist on Mars? The question has captivated humans for centuries, but today it has taken on new urgency. As space agencies gear up to send the first manned missions to the Red Planet, we have a responsibility to think deeply about what kinds of life may already dwell there--and whether we have the right to invite ourselves in. Telling the complete story of our ongoing quest to answer one of the most tantalizing questions in astronomy, David Weintraub grapples with the profound moral and ethical questions confronting us as we prepare to introduce an unpredictable new life form--ourselves--into the Martian biosphere. Now with an afterword that discusses the most recent discoveries, Life on Mars explains what we need to know before we go.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• contents
• Dedication
• Chapter 1. Why Mars Matters
• Chapter 2. Martians?
• Chapter 3. Mars and Earth as Twins
• Chapter 4. Imaginary Mars
• Chapter 5. Misty Mars
• Chapter 6. Red Vegetation and Reasoning Beings
• Chapter 7. Water on Mars: The Real Deal
• Chapter 8. Canal Builders
• Chapter 9. Chlorophyll, Lichens, and Algae
• Chapter 10. Vikings on the Plains of Chryse and Utopia
• Chapter 11. Hot Potato
• Chapter 12. Methane and Mars
• Chapter 13. Digging in the Noise
• Chapter 14. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
• Chapter 15. Sniffing Martian Air with Curiosity
• Chapter 16. Chasing Martians
• Afterword
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix. Life on Mars Astronomers and Scientists
• Notes
• Glossary
• Index