Life on Mars

(seen) without using instruments.

dry

something you want that's almost, but not quite, within reach

things that live in very extreme environments and can survive conditions that would kill most other living things

meteorite is a piece of rock from outer space

Mars may be our closest neighbour, but it's hardly in our backyard, is it?

Neil – it's visible to the naked eye – meaning without using instruments – and it's reachable by spacecraft.

It's also very arid – or dry

We are now seeing that in fact Mars probably does have water – not liquid water – that there is ice just below the surface and there's even just recently tantalizing evidence that perhaps water does flow periodically

there's even just recently tantalizing evidence that perhaps water does flow periodically

Earth we're finding that life in very primitive form exists in the most extreme environments, these are the so called 'extremophiles' that exist at the bottom of the oceans... So life is much, much tougher.

The other interesting point the professor makes is that life may exist in the very harsh Martian environment – because primitive life exists in extreme places on Earth.

The other interesting point the professor makes is that life may exist in the very harsh Martian environment – because primitive life exists in extreme places on Earth.

It’s possible that a massive collision with an asteroid might have heated up Mars's core, disrupting the magnetic fields.

o life on Mars may have evolved – or developed – on its own. Or it might have arrived from Earth in a lump of rock