Question: im really interested in fossils and preostoric creatures, but how will fossils give us clues as to if there is life in space? thanks

Leila Battison answered on 15 Mar 2012:

Looking at normal fossils won’t tell us much, but I’m looking at fossils of bacteria from much much longer ago. We think that if there is anything living in our solar system, it will be small, like a bacteria, or it might have already died out and left fossils.

So by working out how bacteria and tiny animals and plants evolved on Earth, and how we can find them in the rocks, we will know what to look for when we send cameras and later, people, to Mars!

Hope that helps 🙂