For many years now, people have theorized how and when all life on Earth can no longer be sustained. Whether it is the theory that Earth itself will explode or that the conditions on Earth will become too extreme to support life or any other of the many theories, it is uncertain when this inevitable event will occur. This is one of the reasons why Mars exploration is so important today. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, neighbouring Earth and Jupiter. It is approximately 229 million km from the Sun and 55 million km from Earth. Mars is 6790 km in diameter which is around half the size of Earth. It is also called the Red Plant because of its bright rusty colour from oxidized iron minerals in the soil that cover its surface1**. The ultimate goal of Mars exploration programs is to be able to compare its qualities to the qualities of Earth that has made it possible for Earth to sustain life. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administratio
n) defines life as a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution. Darwinian evolution suggests that all organisms develop through natural selection to increase their overall fitness in their specific environment2. Scientists are interested in exploring Mars rather than other planets because it is believed that it used to have the potential to host life. Today, Mars is cold and dry, but there is compelling evidence that is used to be much warmer and wetter. An example of this is the finding of sedimentary and volcanic rock on Mars. The formation of sedimentary usually requires water and volcanic rock is the solidification and cooling of molten rock3. Mars is also close to Earth in comparison to the other planets so it is less expensive to get rovers there and it is also much easier and has a higher success rate of landing because of the shorter distance. Currently, there is no solid evidence of any life forms, past or present,