NASA is spending a lot of time and resources for the journey to Mars because the agency believes that there could be life on Mars and that science can potentially extract minerals and even oxygen from the carbon dioxide on the planet for rockets and for breathing.
"I think in my lifetime, we're going to be standing and walking on Mars" Jim Green, head of NASA's planetary science division said in an interview with Washington Post. In 1976 NASA scientists detected the first sign of what could be life Gil Levin. But as controversial at it may seem, that report wasn't published and remained a controversial finding until today.
But many years later, more scientists and UFO hunters think that there's a reason to believe that there could be a life form on Mars, or they might have existed during the ancient times.
However, it was concluded the life-searching experiments on Mars including the "Labeled Release" experiment by Levin can be chemically explained and not a sign of life on Mars. Although considered a set back, this fueled the search for life on Mars and it didn't stop there. Recent NASA administration still believes that even after 40 years, there are valid reasons to find life on Mars and that modern technology helps identifying "habitability" factors on the red planet.
Recently, NASA held a two-day conference to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Viking landing. Although Viking failed to find Martians or signs of life, it has paved the way to the discovery of Earth-like properties and factors that could make the planet "livable."
"What was so fascinating were all these features that were so familiar from our studies of the Earth," Ellen Stofan, NASA chief scientists said in a statement. "Things like teardrop-shaped islands, abandoned oxbow sections of channels, features that by looking at rivers on Earth we could understand that these features on Mars had been carved by water, and in some cases by great floods of water, coursing across the Martian surface," Stofan added.
Another example is the flowing water on Mars that affects the dark streaks or the recurring slope lineae (RSL); it intensifies the possibility of finding microorganisms on the planet because water is the key ingredient to life. Other compounds were also discovered that adds to the excitement of continuously investigating Mars.
Even after 40 years of Viking landing, NASA is still confident that there are some hidden secret on Mars waiting to be discovered and is working towards sending men on the red planet for a deeper and intensified search for life.