"We change it... slowly but with certainty... to make it fit for human life. Our generation will not see it, nor our children nor our children's children nor the grandchildren of their children... but it will come... Open water and tall green plants and people walking freely without stillsuits."
-- Frank Herbert, Dune
Evidence of liquid water found on Mars
It's quite amazing, if you think about it, the renewed interest in Mars started only 7 years ago, with the discovery of a Martian meteorite in Antartica. With the new NASA directive to send humans to Mars, we'll see how long it takes before mankind actually sets foot on Mars.
Where there is water, there is life, or so it is on Earth. Will it be the same on Mars? Have we already contaminated the Red Planet with some hearty Terran lifeforms that hitched a ride on the Martian Rover? If there was life on Mars, how different is it from Terran lifeforms? Will we need a new way of classifying Martian Lifeforms? If there is Martian life, what differences will there be in biology?
Well, if science fiction ever does comes to life, it sure won't be happening in my lifetime.
Actually, the book I quoted from takes place on a planet called Arrakis, not Mars, but I just found the quote a good one for talking about the future of Mars.