NASA Accused of Killing Martians

Sneakernets writes: CNN reports that NASA may have found life on Mars via the Viking space probes in 1976-77, but failed to recognize it and killed it by accident. Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a geology professor at Washington State University, says that Mars microbes that the space probes had found were possibly drowned and baked by accident. "The problem was that they didn't have any clue about the environment on Mars at that time," Schulze-Makuch said. Other experts said the new concept is plausible, but more work is needed before they are convinced. http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/07/mars.life.ap/in dex.html