Two headlines appeared in papers published on April 12 and 13 this year. One stated “Life on Mars Discovered from Decades Old Data” and the other used this headline, “NASA robots found life on Mars in 1976, scientists say.” In 1976 the United States Viking-1 an

Mars has always been less a mystery to astronomers than Venus. Through Earth-based telescopes the surface of the planet can easily be seen showing seasonal colour changes and  from time to time a shrouded look from dust temporarily suspended in the atmosphere because of storms. In the