Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez and Chris McKay Say the Vikings Probably DID Discover Organics on Mars

Almost thirty-five years ago, two sophisticated Mars landers appeared to find no evidence of organic compounds on Mars. The discovery of perchlorates by the Phoenix lander in 2008 led to new evidence that organics, the most basic building blocks of life, do exist on the surface of the red planet. Emily Lakdawalla tells us how a push broom is like a high resolution orbiting camera. Bill Nye salutes NASA's Nanosail-D, while Bruce Betts and Mat Kaplan are measuring rockets and announcing a new space trivia contest on What's Up!

Related Links:

• Missing Piece Inspires New Look at Mars Puzzle
• Viking GC-MS Instrument
• A Mars Timeline, Fact and Fancy Since 1960
• Mars Express HRSC Camera
• Two Fine Color Cassini Animations
• Bill Nye's Your Place in Space (MP3)