20 Years Later: The ALH 84001 Debate in Context with Viking’s Results. Lessons Learned and Portals Opened

Abstract

This article is an anecdotal recap of lessons learned from the ALH 84001 debate in light of the historical and recent debate over the Viking results. While it has been 50 years since Viking it has also been 30 years since the announcement of possible indigenous Martian life in the ALH 84001 meteorite. Much has been learned in the interim period and many lessons are still being learned from the subsequent debate and the NASA Mars exploration and astrobiology programs it triggered.