After scientists announced this week they had confirmed liquid water is flowing on the surface of Mars, the Daily News' Friendly Feedback column asked if we should go and investigate. One of our respondents, Kathryn Whetstone, echoed the concerns of several.

"No," she wrote, "I don't think humans have the right to ruin another planet."

Believe it or not, NASA is worrying about the same thing.

The water on Mars is thought to be creeping along in rivulets that leave dark streaks on the slopes of craters and canyons. The streaks have puzzled scientists for years. Recently, readings from orbit indicated the presence of molecules called perchlorates — proof, experts say, that the streaks are damp soil caused by salty water.

Liquid water is vital for life. Could the water on Mars, scant though it is, be filled with tiny living things?

Scientists would be eager to find out, except for this: Any space probe we send to examine the water might contaminate it with Earthly germs.

Avoiding such contamination is difficult. The New York Times explained: "Of the spacecraft NASA has sent to Mars, only the two Viking landers in 1976 were baked to temperatures hot enough to kill Earth microbes. Sterilizing spacecraft, which requires electronics and systems that can withstand the heat of baking, adds to the cost and complicates the design."

That's why most Mars probes have been sent to places thought to be barren and uninhabitable.

Perhaps someone here in Northwest Florida, peopled as it is with engineers and fliers, can solve NASA's dilemma. Space is never far from our thoughts anyway. Eglin's 20th Space Control Squadron tracks satellites. A meteorite the size of a bowling ball was found in 1983 at Grayton Beach. And there were those Gulf Breeze UFOs ...

But we're not talking about little green men, just the possibility of microscopic Martians. If they're there, and if scientists can figure out how to follow the water, we might finally get a peek at them.

REPRINTED FROM NORTHWEST FLORIDA DAILY NEWS