I wouldn't say we do so little looking for life in space. Our preoccupation with looking for the things that brought what we needed for life to Earth before lif

I wouldn't say we do so little looking for life in space. Our preoccupation with looking for the things that brought what we needed for life to Earth before life came about here is akin to looking for life in space. We are always looking for what we believe are the indicators that would make life possible. We say that it is to understand our own origin, but the side effect of that is that if we find enough of it in space, we'll study it for its potential for life, just as we are doing on Mars right now.