It may be so alien that we may not even know it's living. McKay said that NASA's goal above all is to find life on Mars that is proven to be completely unrelated to any life on Earth. He explained that all life on Earth, be it animals, plants, fungi or bacteria, has the same genetic code. Scientists hope that if life on Mars is ever found, tests will show that it has a completely different genetic code, thus being completely independent from any life on Earth. This would be convincing evidence that life exists elsewhere in the universe.
Money is a huge blockade in exploring Mars.
Central students appeared to appreciate the opportunity to enlighten themselves on the mysteries of Earth's nearest neighbor.