Before NASA announced that a very salty, transient water exists on the surface of Mars, I’ll be honest, I was crossing my fingers and silently hoping for the BIG announcement – the one that would change the science books forever.

“Life confirmed on Mars,” is what I was looking for, as were many other people. We knew the chances were slim, at best, but it’s not every day that NASA announces a sudden press conference for massive news about another planet.

And no, I’m not talking about little green men. I was looking more realistically toward the announcement of microbial life – tiny bacteria that perhaps exist in the rocks or soil or water of the Red Planet.

Nope, it had to be salt water. Theories about the existence of surface water on Mars have been around for decades. I mean, don’t get me wrong, having NASA confirm it is pretty neat, but I’d be willing to bet I wasn’t the only one secretly disappointed that the $2.5 billion taxpayer-funded Curiosity Rover didn’t unearth alien germs.

Not long after the discovery, NASA announced it wouldn’t probe the surface water for signs of life, citing contamination issues.

Apparently, the Curiosity Rover isn’t sterile and some of the NASA geeks are scared to death that they might contaminate the planet.

OK… So what?

For the love of science, you’re telling me we can’t dip a needle into the salty brine-water for a split-second to make what could be the most important discovery in the history of mankind and completely change the way we think for eternity?

As I thought about that, I became frustrated. But then something else struck me.

Do you even believe NASA or a government body would actually confirm the existence of life on another planet? No, I’m not wearing a hat made out of aluminum foil as I type this, but seriously, I have my doubts.

Obviously, the magnitude of that kind of discovery would have unfathomable implications on science and religion – two subjects that are hot enough to throw the globe into civil unrest and chaos. I can honestly see why they wouldn’t announce such a thing, yet, but the thought still angers me.

Anyway, my curiosity about Martian life could be settled as soon as 2018, when a joint mission by European and Russian space agencies send up the ExoMars Rover. That rover is set to drill several feet into Mars’ crust and take samples specifically to test for past or present life.

As much as it pains me to say it, at least if Putin is in charge, he’ll get the job done.