From the article:
The dispute dates back to July 1976, when the first Viking lander settled down on the dusty-pink world with its salmon-pink skies. But there was nothing rosy about the Red Planet. It was bitterly cold, and almost airless. Drifts of fine Martian soil stretched for miles, as powdery as Antarctic snow. Rocks and boulders of all shapes and sizes littered the scene. Many were rough and volcanic in appearance, and some had small holes where gas had once bubbled through - like pumice.
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Two of the experiments gave negative or inconclusive results. Any reactions that took place, agreed the researchers, were down to chemistry rather than biology. But the third experiment had everyone sitting up and taking a considerable amount of notice. It was the Labelled Release experiment of 'sanitary engineer' Gil Levin.
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