Water and the Search for Life on Mars

by David M. Harland

This volume relates how NASA and ESA have sought evidence of life on Mars, with the author assembling and then weighing the evidence. It contains details of the Mariner, Viking, and Pathfinder missions and evolving theories of Martian geology and climate. It explains how the search continues with the Mars Express orbiter and Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The author sets this within the broader perspective of the likely nature of life on Mars as compared to primitive life on Earth. Finally, he analyzes the implications of there being life on both planets.