Vincent Murphy, age 9, of Tohatchi, N.M., for his question:

DO YOU THINK THE MARTIANS ARE FRIENDLY PEOPLE?

It would be nice to think that the planet Mars is populated with lots of friendly people. But scientists tell us that this is not likely. In fact, they seem quite certain that there are no Martian people living there at all. There may be plants of some sort growing on Mars. There even may be small simplified animals. We must wait for these answers until astronauts land on Mars and get a close look at the place. But certainly they do not expect to find any Martian people living there.