Planners for future soft landing on Mars need to know whether a single soil sample taken near the point of landing is likely to be adequate for analysis and life detection. Two Antarctic dry valleys, McKelvey Valley and Pearse Valley, were selected for systematic sampling of the surface 2cm of soil to determine if a sterile soil could be found in a specific area of the dry valleys and to dtermine the distribution, abundance, and kinds of microorganisms present within a given area. The Antarctic dry valleys are lush by comparison with known Martian environmental conditions.