Well, the Mars 2020 mission is really
exciting for an astrobiologist. I've been
spending the past 15 years
making simulations of this kind of
mission in the Atacama desert, or trying
to understand what biosignatures
are, and how we can detect them.
So, it's really a case
where you are taking that science and
putting it in the field.
So, it's just really the coming together
of a lot of work and a lot of thoughts.
Obviously, the most exciting discovery
that Mars 2020
could be making on Mars is the
discovery of life
and nothing would top that. Is it going
to be easy to
recognize? We have no clue. That goes
back to the question whether there was a
co-evolution on Mars or
a second genesis or something looking
like us, and so,  is there life on mars?
Are we going to have an answer to that question?
On the other hand, if there is no answer with
Mars 2020, obviously, that doesn't mean
that there is no life on Mars, it
means that we have more work
to do to try and understand what it
could be and how we could recognize it.
So, it's you know, very exciting
intellectually, philosophically, I think
I'm very much looking forward to this
mission and
I just cannot wait to see it on the ground.
