[John H K]

The problem is I think people are going to have their hopes dashed when it isn't "life." (And I'd be more thrilled than anyone if it is, but I'd put the chances of that as very, very, very, very, very, very, very low.) The problem is there's been so much confusion over the "water" thing (yes, we HAVE known there is frozen water on Mars for years, it's nothing new) that I have the perception that any discovery other than "Life on Mars" is considered irrelevant by the general public; I don't think people have really grasped that finding conclusive evidence of flowing liquid water on the surface is HUGH in and of itself.

[Joe Hadenuf]

That's is what I think it is. It's about the water IMO. That alone would be earth shattering in my opinion, and would certainly raise the possibilities of eventually finding life, past or present.