Before we can dive into answering questions about life on Mars, we have to answer some questions about life on Earth — and rocks throughout the American Southwest have a lot to add to the conversation.
Living microbes play a role in forming rock varnish on Earth. Could they play a role in Martian rock varnish, too?
Mars Technica is produced by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Cover art by Joey Montoya. Images courtesy NASA/JPL and NASA/JPL/Caltech. With special thanks to Laura Mullane, Scott Faulk, Charles Poling, Arthur Bishop and Camille Dickson.
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