The lander will use a robotic arm to burrow into soil and under rocks. Samples will be analyzed chemically and results transmitted back to earth. At least one Earth scientist thinks she already has found hard evidence of bacterial life on Mars. The crystals work like tiny compasses sensitive to the earth's magnetic field. She has compared the magnetotactic bacteria's magnetite with nearly identical crystals found in the Allan Hills meteorite that was discovered in the Antarctic.
Scientists say it definitely came from Mars.
It has magnetite crystals in its carbonate that match similar crystals produced by Earth bacteria. Scientists have confirmed from chemical analysis that the Allan Hills meteorite definitely was ejected from Mars before it crashed down into the Antarctic about 13,000 years ago. Kathy Keprta said the meteorite's carbonate layers match the unique chemistry of rock carbonates studied by the Viking lander on Mars in the 1970s. Further, the magnetite crystals are embedded in the Allan Hills carbonate and cannot be earth contamination. These crystals also have facets on top and lower edges of the crystal.