Mars has . . . gullies!

They were created by liquid water. Why this is such a big deal, I don't know. The article says that when liquid water reaches the surface, it immediately boils away. If they found some algae or something like it, it's not as if it would be a huge surprise at this point. More like a huge disappointment if they don't find it.

If they do, they might want to suppress the evidence, for reasons Prof. Reynolds details. Imagine all the money and effort to get there, only to have the Sierra Club file suit. Considering that Earth has microbes far beneath its surface that live thousands of years or longer, breathe minerals in the rocks, etc., there could be life there, whether we find it at the surface or not. Maybe we have evolved to a dead end, the stage where intelligence appreciates how it has outcompeted everything else, suffers survivor's guilt and ommits suicide. In that case, forget Mars. Forget the new frontier. It's immoral for us to continue to follow the imperative of our natures.

Update: To prove the final point, the London Zoo has opened a new exhibit with "eight humans prowling around wearing little more than fig leaves to cover [sic] their modesty. . . 'We have set up this exhibit to highlight the spread of man as a plague species. . .'