"Controversial Claim: Humans Unknowingly Wiped Out Life on Mars 50 Years Ago"

An astrobiology professor claims that life on Mars was discovered 50 years ago by the Viking program but was unintentionally eradicated. The Viking landers performed biological analysis of Martian soil and found geological formations consistent with water flows, as well as small amounts of chlorinated organics. One experiment involved adding water to soil samples, and the professor suggests that the potential microbes may have been overwhelmed and died off. The search for life on Mars continues with the Perseverance rover and future missions aimed at retrieving samples.