An abandoned test tube on Mars could hold the secret to life’s origins. Trump wants to leave it on the Red Planet. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/23/nasa-mars-samples-life/
'“Are we alone in the universe?” is the question we ask about life. On Earth, we might well ask: Are we alone among spacefaring nations in giving up just as we are poised to succeed? What will it say about us if, having recovered possible evidence of extraterrestrial life, we abandon it to the Martian dust?'