"Chosp" wrote:

So what? If there were an equivalent to fossilized coral there -
it would certainly show up and it would most certainly
recognized as life. It could be completely macroscopic and identifiable.

The point being that having suspected bacteria fossils in one
rock does not preclude the existence of macroscopic fossils
in the next rock over.

Mars is not your backyard and we cannot yet rule the possibility
of fossil rich areas on Mars.

Have you ever looked for fossils - even in fossil rich areas? I have. They
are not sitting out in plain view. And a few surface drillings on an entire
planet of rocks is not likely to hit "pay dirt". Think about the reality and
the probabilities. I'd like to think that Mars had some kind of life on it
at one point -- it's a fascinating thought. Indeed, one of the lead
scientists on the Mars meteorite investigation team is a personal friend of
mine, with whom I have discussed the "life on Mars" prospects. The fact is
that the MER was not designed or intended to seek actual evidence of current
or past life, but to investigate whether conditions ever existed that were
conducive to life.

Jon