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Life discovered on Mars?

Apparently Curiosity has discovered something that scientists are signaling could be "earthshaking" in its significance.

"This data is gonna be one for the history books" the principle investigator for the rover mission has been quoted as saying.

However, at this point in time, they're not saying exactly what the discovery might be -- claiming that they need to verify it isn't simply an anomalous reading or glitch from the instrumentation onboard.

Which leaves us, here on earth, wondering "what could it be?"

Personally, I've always wondered whether perhaps life didn't originate on Mars a long, long time ago -- only to be effectively wiped out when the planet's core solidified, its magnetic field collapsed and the harsh solar wind was then able to ablate its atmosphere.

Yeah - unlikely I know -- but it's a lovely fantasy to mull over.

Could it be that life on earth was seeded here by that ancient Martian civilization -- before they lost their battle against the immense forces of nature?

Might they have perhaps built a rocket,loaded with single-cell life-forms and fired it off to earth in a last-ditch attempt to ensure that at least some of the DNA from their own planet would survive -- as a record of their own existence perhaps?

Perhaps we're all Martian in origin.

The find that's being examined right now is unlikely to be the fossilized skull of a long-dead Martian, and far more likely to be some kind of potentially organic matter or a strong hint that there was once organic activity on the red planet. But even this has to be tremendously exciting.

What will this mean to the deeply religious, many of who believe that the Earth is unique amongst all worlds in that it, and only it, is the place where God created life?

Could the discovery of life (either living now or traces of its existence in the past) on Mars challenge the very foundations of many religions and the faith of billions?

Might there be a rush to Scientology -- on the basis that Xinu was really a Martian?

From where I stand, I would be excited by such a find -- but it would not be a shocking revelation so much as an endorsement that life abounds throughout the universe and for us to think we are alone would be incredibly arrogant.

The plus-side of such a discovery might be that governments of the world may be more favourably disposed towards funding future exploration of the red planet -- and perhaps other potentially life-sustaining worlds such as the moons that orbit some of the gas giants.

So what's your take -- have we discovered life (or evidence that it once existed) elsewhere in the solar system -- or is it just a "glitch"?

Related story: Big news from Mars?.

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