[dempedempe]

The way I see it:

- Water on Mars: confirmed 2004 - Organic molecules on Mars: confirmed 2018 - Complex organic molecules (e.g., DNA precursors) on Mars: 2026

We now know for certain that it is possible for complex organic molecules to be preserved for ~3.5 billion years on the Martian surface.

The big question everyone wants to know is if life ever existed on Mars. Now we know that it's possible for that question to be answer, since we have confirmation of complex organic molecules actually being preserved.

This legitimizes future missions/spending on life searching missions to the Martian surface.

[cucumber3732842]

>- Water on Mars: confirmed 2004 - Organic molecules on Mars: confirmed 2018 - Complex organic molecules (e.g., DNA precursors) on Mars: 2026

This. It's been an incredibly steady march from "dead space rock" to "life".

It would be nice to prove or disprove the Viking gas experiments while some of the people who worked on that stuff are still alive.

[sparky4pro]

> This legitimizes future missions/spending on life searching missions to the Martian surface.

How about spending money to get clean drinking water to the whole humanity (and other living creatures) here on earth first?