Have we *already* sent our microbes? (Score 1)

*Many* years ago, a college friend, whose father worked in the space program, speculated the sterilization for the Viking mission was done with an early 1970's understanding of bacteria and virii. He thought virii like the Epstein-Barr virus might have withstood the 1970's NASA sterilization procedure, since the hardiness of such bugs wasn't widely understood and appreciated at the time. And it is exactly those hardy bugs that could withstand the rigors of sterilization and space travel, and thus would be able to survive on the surface of Mars.

Not a Good Thing.

I'm wholly unburdened with technical knowledge in the area, but I suspect we know less than we think...first, do no harm.