Is there life beyond Earth? This has been a question haunting humans for millenia. Nowadays, the advances in technology help search for the answer to this question and many others. In this talk we will explain how the in situ exploration of Mars and the use of spectroscopy is used to investigate the existence of present or past life in Mars, and the implications to life on Earth. The participation of the Universidad de Valladolid in several missions to the red planet will be discussed, showing how we contribute to this huge scientific project.