Mars

---

The Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, started the speculation that Mars may have life by reporting the sighting of canals lining the planets surface, however with the advent of improved telescopes and probes sent to the planet, it was revealed that these canals were in fact, the remains of long vanished rivers. This fact coupled with the discovery of polar ice caps, has led scientist to theorise that Mars was once not too dissimilar to the earth, but over many millions of years, due to it's low gravity, the atmosphere has leaked away, allowing harse radiation to leave the planet barren and inhospitable.
The question of life on Mars continues, with the recent discovery of a meteorite that came to Earth from Mars, this meteorite contains what look like tiny fossilised remains, opinion is split however, as to whether these are the actual remains of life, or whether they are due to some chemical process.

Mars is currently the object of close scientific examination, there are many probes,either on their way to Mars, or already orbiting, designed to increase our knowledge of the planet. These include a probe designed to penetrate the surface of Mars to analyze below the surface, and also a microphone equipped landing module that will allow us to hear, for the first time, the sounds of an alien planet.
At the time of writing, it had just been released that the Hubble Space Telescope had discovered a cyclone raging across the northern polar region. This storm was approx 1,1000 miles long and 900 miles wide, circling around a 200 mile eye.