Drilling For Life On Mars

Jayman2 writes: "New Scientist has a story on how NASA wants to drill holes in the Martian surface to examine the possibility of traces of life in the deeper layers of the planet. Due to the composition of the ground on Mars a conventional hole is likely to collapse, so the tip of the drill NASA intends to use will be heated up to 1500 degrees Celsius, cooling the shaft with the cold atmosphere of Mars itself. However, the high temperature of the drill bit is likely to destroy all carbon based life it would encounter...."