silver (02/26/83)
Yes, but, remember, the Viking lander merely scooped up some dirt and used that for analysis. Anything that couldn't move out of the way of the little sampler arm might as well be fried! Besides, Somebody's Principle (Heisenberg's Uncertainty?) says you can't do ANYTHING to a system without disturbing it. In our local neck of the System, we exist, ergo we have the right to exist, and probably to explore it as well (it's a survival trait).