The possibility of life on Mars is subject to significant interest to astronomers due to its proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no living proof has been found of past or present life on the Red Planet. However, one scientist warned NASA over the possible dangerous effects of bringing samples back from missions, in case a different form of life flourishes there compared to Earth.
Colin Pillinger, who was Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Open University until he passed away in 2014, claimed a “rampant” outbreak could be on the cards if the space agency is not careful.
He told BBC Radio 4’s “In Our Time” podcast in 2007: “The next logical step [with Mars] is to bring samples back.
“If we have samples in our hands we can use the latest technology to analyse them.
“After that, it becomes a case of ‘we have to go there ourselves’.
“But before we bring the samples back we have to ask ourselves ‘is there life on Mars?’
“Because if we bring living organisms back that have evolved to survive in a very harsh environment – you let it loose on Earth and it could be rampant.”
Mr Pillinger added that living organisms could, in a worst-case scenario, even infect humans on Earth.
He continued: “I would love to bring a lot of lumps of Mars back to Earth, but they could infect us all.
“There are strict laws on this – when you go there [to Mars] you have to make sure the spacecraft is sterilised.
“When you come back you have to be even more careful, going into quarantine to test if anything is there that could be harmful to Earth.”
The search for life on Mars was boosted last week after the European Space Agency revealed it had found proof of ancient rivers.
Finding water has previously been dubbed as the “Holy Grail” of discoveries for scientists.