Life on Mars?

Does life exist on Mars? That's a question scientists have been asking for decades; one that Sam Kounaves hopes to answer.

Kounaves is a Tufts University chemistry professor who's leading the "Phoenix Mars Mission."

The spacecraft is scheduled to land on the Red Planet on May 25th after a 10-month odyssey. Once it touches down, using robotics, it will conduct a chemical analysis of the Martian soil and ice, looking for signs of life.

Sam Kounaves joined WBUR's Bob Oakes for a conversation about the Mars mission.