I think that we want to exhaust any possibility that there was/is life in some form on mars without merging our biosphere with it just yet. I think to most of h

I think that we want to exhaust any possibility that there was/is life in some form on mars without merging our biosphere with it just yet. I think to most of humanity that would be an extreme epiphany that you don't need a higher power or that humans are anything special outside of our own little mudball. Seems like a reasonable take for now. I'm sure if we actually do establish permanent colonies there it won't be a choice, although avoiding taking extremophiles that might easily adapt there is something we'll avoid for a while.