Earth May Spread Life To Other Planets

Asteroid impacts on the Earth may have scattered more life-bearing debris to Mars, Jupiter or beyond our Solar System than previously thought. Vast computer simulations of debris thrown up from Earth impacts show 100 times more particles end up on Mars than prior studies have shown. The highest-energy impacts drive debris all the way to Jupiter, which hosts two moons that may be amenable to life. Only the hardiest of Earth's organisms could have survived the trip, however. 

Artificial Life Made To Terraform Mars

A mission to Mars may seem like a distant dream to cash-strapped Nasa, but a controversial scientist says we are on the verge of a breakthrough that would enable humans to settle there. U.S. scientist Craig Venter stunned the scientific community last year when he revealed that he had created the world's first synthetic organism.  Now his team are working on engineering the cells to grow by consuming carbon dioxide - and he thinks we can harness this to set up camp on the Red Planet.