Genome sequencers and other devices that could reveal whether anything is alive on Mars right now should be ready to launch with NASA's next Mars rover in 2020. The trouble is, the rover team may not want them – and some astrobiologists are crying foul.
Earlier this week NASA announced its science goals for the next US rover headed for the Red Planet, known for now as Mars 2020. Essentially a duplicate of the Curiosity rover now on Mars, this robot has been tasked with searching for evidence of past life and collecting rock samples for eventual return to Earth. Sample-return has been at the top of the Mars community's wish list for decades. The caching component of Mars 2020 represents a revival of a well-studied plan to bring Martian rocks back to Earth for detailed study.
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