A permanent base on Mars would have a number of advantages beyond being a bonanza for planetary science and geology. If, as some evidence suggests, exotic micro-organisms have arisen independently of terrestrial life, studying them could revolutionise biology, medicine and biotechnology.
“We don't know where our first impressions come from or precisely what they mean, so we don't always appreciate their fragility.”
“I try to do that in this book without preaching - to try to do as you just said that you really have to defend the First Amendment rights of everybody.”