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Life on Mars



An old joke comes to mind.  The joke is from a comedy team that once had a primetime television show but that has now been largely forgotten. Burns and Schrieber. 

"Is there life on Mars?"

"Only on Saturday night."

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Less amusingly: NASA's Perseverance rover has been analyzing the chemistry of a rock they call Cheyava Falls, within the Jezero Crater.  Those names mean nothing to you?  Fair enough.

What may mean something, though, is the fact that Cheyava Falls shows evidence of the passage of water through porous rock. and contains organic compounds, i.e. compounds that on earth would be associated with life.   

"Are we alone in the universe?"

"No, but the neighborhood has been pretty dead lately."  



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