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Thomas H. Jukes, PhD, DSc

JAMA. 1975;232(1):68-69.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

DO INTELLIGENT creatures live "out there," among the stars? Perhaps we on earth will never know. But at least we may find out if there are living organisms on Mars, which, of all the planets in the solar system, is the only one that may have conditions tolerable for life as we know it. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission, Viking 75, will be launched next summer. Nearly a year later, it will land an automated package on the surface of Mars. The instruments will photograph the landscape, analyze the atmosphere and the weather, determine the physical properties of the surface, and search for evidence of life.

Perhaps, about ten years from now, a more elaborate spacecraft will take off from Cape Canaveral on a round trip to bring back about 1 kg of soil from Mars! A debate has already started as to whether there is any . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
If you wish to suggest a topic or write an answer for this feature, write to William H. Crosby, MD, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA 92037.

Reprint requests to Division of Medical Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (Dr. Jukes).

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