[Search for life on Mars]

The paper presents the data about the catalytic activity of several minerals from the Martian ground and of some laboratory analogues of the planet ground. It has been shown that it is possible to obtain unambigious data about life on Mars by using such methodological approaches which are based on biological principles of the determination of living matter. Microbiological methods for detection of extraterrestrial life should be preferred in future over biogeochemical methods which were used by the Viking stations.