There was an old book called Pan Spermia, which posthulated that the seeds of life are basically distributed throughout the universe univofrmly, much
like the other elements we see. The authors theorize that life is fairly common in the universe, or at least the compunds essential to life are, and
we can expect to find life in any environment that can support it.
If, and that is a big IF, this image is the fossil of a trilobite, then we have to rethink the distribution processes of life in our solar system, if
not for the rest of our universe. One of the most profound things we have discovered by astronomy is that things are basically the same everywhere.
If trilobites were on mars, and earth, then they somehow travelled from one place to the other, then how can we explain this?
SPECULATION FOLLOWS: Really big impacts might have blasted trilobites into space, where they were frozen and preserved. Perhaps this is how we can
explain the common forms of marine life between Mars. Did they come from Earth, and fall onto Mars, or come from Mars, and fall onto the earth?
Perhaps life was developming simultaneously on both worlds, and impacts caused bits and pieces of plants and animals to jump between the worlds. If
dust and rocks can make it here, so can other bits of matter.
What a wonder if the true history of life involves the crossed evolutionary paths of martian and terrran life forms. Just look at a trilobite. It is
a totally alien form. They are extremely robust, compact, like aquatic roaches. Who knows?
The real truth in the matter is that life is everywhere, water is everywhere, and the conditions for life in the universe are common and widespread.
We won't really know until the planet finder missions are launched, which will have the capability of finding extrasolar planets in the mass ranges
of habitable worlds.
Perhaps the concept of God and a crreator can be addressed here too, in a kind of Arthur C. Clarke kind of way. Perhaps the form of life that we have
on earth, the original forms of it, came from a common, extraterrestrial source. Perhaps this is a more romantic thought, but if there was
commonality between the the life on mars and earth then something brought it there.
If the principal of equilibrium holds true for life bearing compounds as well, then life probably is similar no matter where it is found, be it here
or around Tau Ceti, Alpha Centauri, or any other star with planets bearing water.
Water seems to be the key here, marine organisms seem to be the most basic forms of life, they can exist anywhere there is water and nutirents to feed
them.
Mars was once a water world. This has been established. It is not a great leap of speculation to imagine those oceans filled with all forms of life,
simple forms perhaps, but analogous to earth's own development. Since we have found that life will exist whereever it can, and the conditions on
mars were favorable to simple lifeforms. It is silly to imagine a world of warm oceans to be completely sterile.
What we really need is a manned expedition to mars. We need to get some human eyes up there and find out for ourselves. It is perhaps the most
profound line of inquiry our race has pursued: These dsicoveries will lead to ultimate understanding of the distribution of life itself, and will
teach us about our origns.
Still think that space program is expensive and useless? Want another big mac? Here ya go. And don't step on that roach that crawled out of the
wrapper, it might be a martian!
Arkaleus