A team of researchers is building a prototype of an instrument that could find, analyze, and copy DNA on Mars. NASA is supporting the project, and a version of the instrument could fly on a future NASA robotic mission to the planet.
Despite the tantalyzing case that can be made for Mars being suitable for life at some point in the past, we still have no firm evidence life ever existed there. Some scientists argue, therefore, that looking for Martian DNA is premature. The instrument being developed, however, would be extremely sensitive to bits of genetic material in simple soil samples-- and, of course, if it found anything, the debate over life on Mars would be ended.
The theory behind the DNA approach is that life on the two worlds might be genetically connected. Life from Mars could have come to Earth inside a meteor, for example-- or vice versa. Or, life on both planets could share a common, third source. The thinking goes that if the genetic codes are similar, we should be able to recognize Martian DNA for what it is.
Of course, if Martian life was, or is, based on a completely different genetic molecule, all bets are off.
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