Recent advances in our understanding of the extreme tolerances of terrestrial life, as well as robotic exploration of Mars and the discovery of increasingly Earth-like planets orbiting other stars in the galaxy, have given us growing confidence that conditions suitable for life could exist beyond the Earth. We also now have the technological capability to detect trace signs of microbial life either within our solar system or in the atmospheric chemistry of extrasolar planets. The public has a great appetite for news of these endeavours, and the exploration of space and astrobiology is often touted as a key player in inspiring school children to pursue careers in science. This session proposes to examine what the implications of finding life would be, both to the scientific community and society as a whole.What might be the ramifications for the general public of discovery of 'only' simple bacterial life on Mars? What might be the implications of finding atmospheric biosignatures on a world tens of light years away, that we couldn't feasibly visit for centuries? What would it mean if we were to find martian microbes that are constitutionally radically different to ourselves? There are also a number of ethical and societal issues in space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. What value does space exploration have for human beings? Should we send humans on a Mars mission before we've been able to rule-out native life? Would we have the 'right' to terraform Mars if it does possess a biosphere?