What do you think that they'll find on Mars?

Prior to this recent NASA mission, we already had 2.3 billion bits of information, including more than 16,500 images from the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil and extensive data on winds and other weather factors. Findings from the investigations carried out by scientific instruments on both the lander and the rover suggest that Mars was at one time in its past warm and wet, with water existing in its liquid state and a thicker atmosphere.

It will be interesting to see this mission’s images.

New information about the rocks and dirt and surface radiation, and at some point somebody’s going to find something that may or may not look a little bit like it might be a fossilized microbe.

I think it’s an important step, even if they don’t find anything world-shattering. We may yet drag ourselves to Mars this century.

Possible information on small lifeforms.

I think they will find this. LOL
I really have no idea though. But it will be interesting to see.

@Pandora They did!

I think they will find quite a lot of rocks and dirt.

WMD and another pretext for undeclared war, I suppose.

A wookie.

OK, I’ll bite.

I predict they will find evidence of life in the strata corresponding to 2.5 Billion years ago to 1.4 BYA. (+ or – 100 years).
It was single celled, carbon based, and used Si and Fe oxidation as the primary energy reaction.

Rocks and dirt, evidence of past water. No life.

If there are any signs of life on Mars I find it more likely that it comes from Earth-based ejecta, from when we were struck by asteroids.

Evidence of past life and perhaps even life. I think Mars could still have some bacteria kicking about.

We ought to have a pool going where we give odds and pay off in Lurve. :-)

I think they will find proof that Mars once supported some form of primitive life. LOL maybe sentient life.

GOLD – There’s GOLD on Mars!!!

LOL, that is supposed to start a brand new gold rush.

It would be amazing if they found evidence that life had existed on Mars but I don’t think it is likely. We will learn a bit more about Martian geology and the history of the planet but probably nothing very exciting.

Men. Because women are from Venus. : )

Seriously, if a future probe ever gets to Mar’s great ice region and somehow dig deep enough, it would find life. What else, jellies of high intelligence and great poise. As if you Flutherites didn’t know!

I think we will find evidence of life on mars. However, I don’t think we are going to find it with our current means of exploration. The surface is too dangerous for organisms to survive, they would likely be in deep caverns or other places our rover can’t easily access.

Is anyone watching Nasa Channel? I am and it is worthwhile.
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html

Idle curiosity, but exactly how much of Mars’ surface have we documented, for NASA to reasonably be hoping to find life, or fossils?

Wells imagined a dying race of spacefaring Martians. Heinlein was content with secretive starfish aliens and flat cats. NASA has never hoped for more than microbes, and now we have people all set to be giddy over fossils.
Life may be hardy, but hope is truly a clingy beast.

Calvin and Hobbs remains from the accident that killed them.

+Billions of socks that were lost in the drier.

We already know who inhabits the red planet. Here is an example.
Photo. They are looking for male breeding stock from Earth. The line forms to the right.

Of course we are a lot smarter now and know this is really how they look.