Life on Mars

This article looks back on the Viking Missions and has come up with two reasons why this mission did not provide conclusive answers to the life on Mars question. First, they didn't find organic material in the gas chromatograph - mass spectrometer, a device which detects the chemicals present in a sample. Although it was extremely sensitive, it didn't find any of the chemicals we associate with life. The second reason was that they found a rapid development of oxygen, carbon dioxide and some nitrogen in the moustered soil. A majority of scientists think an inorganic oxidant created this reaction, and that the Martian soil contains no life. A scientist from University of Giessen in Germany was not satisfied with this answer.