[Calvin Locke]

I thought a probe already tried to find life on Mars - that is, a scoop of dirt, add water, heat/cool to room temp, and check for a couple of gases - CO2, methane, etc?

[green team 1999]

we got two probes to launch this year,will land at two locations,the brits got one on it`s way, and the euros will launch one in june

[chimera]

I thought a probe already tried to find life on Mars - that is, a scoop of dirt, add water, heat/cool to room temp, and check for a couple of gases - CO2, methane, etc?

The Viking landers had such a system. Scoop up some dirt, add a nutrient mixture with radiolabeled tags, look for effluents characteristic of biological processes by detecting the radiolabeled molecules. Everyone was excited when readings came in suggestivive of bioactivity, but it turned out the indications were better explained by inorganic processes (soil chemistry). Shucks. Try again. The Viking landers were targeted more for terrain that would lead to successful landings, rather than good candidates for sites having liquid water, since such were unknown back in '76. So this looks like its worth a try, if we're going to go back there at all (I hope)...