1
00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,080
Well, the Mars 2020 mission is really
exciting for an astrobiologist. I've been

2
00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:22,000
spending the past 15 years
making simulations of this kind of

3
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,320
mission in the Atacama desert, or trying
to understand what biosignatures

4
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,160
are, and how we can detect them.
So, it's really a case

5
00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,000
where you are taking that science and
putting it in the field.

6
00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:40,399
So, it's just really the coming together
of a lot of work and a lot of thoughts.

7
00:00:42,559 --> 00:00:46,079
Obviously, the most exciting discovery
that Mars 2020

8
00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:49,440
could be making on Mars is the
discovery of life

9
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,120
and nothing would top that. Is it going
to be easy to

10
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,760
recognize? We have no clue. That goes
back to the question whether there was a

11
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,600
co-evolution on Mars or
a second genesis or something looking

12
00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,040
like us, and so,  is there life on mars?

13
00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,040
Are we going to have an answer to that question?

14
00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,880
On the other hand, if there is no answer with
Mars 2020, obviously, that doesn't mean

15
00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,080
that there is no life on Mars, it
means that we have more work

16
00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,960
to do to try and understand what it
could be and how we could recognize it.

17
00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:26,400
So, it's you know, very exciting
intellectually, philosophically, I think