Life on Mars?! That’s a yes, according to new JPL study

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Jun 7, 2018

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Life on Mars?! That’s a yes, according to new JPL study

New Mars discoveries are advancing the case for possible life on the red planet, past or even present.

IN SPACE - JULY 16: In this handout image supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) on July 16, 2008, The Echus Chasma, one of the largest water source regions on Mars, is pictured from ESA's Mars Express. The data was acquired on September 25, 2005. An impressive cliff, up to 4000 m high, is located in the eastern part of Echus Chasma. Gigantic water falls may once have plunged over these cliffs on to the valley floor. The remarkably smooth valley floor was later flooded by basaltic lava. (Photo by ESA via Getty Images)

New Mars discoveries are advancing the case for possible life on the red planet, past or even present.

Scientists reported Thursday that NASA's Curiosity rover has found potential building blocks of life in an ancient Martian lakebed. Hints have been found before, but this is the best evidence yet.

The organic molecules preserved in 3.5 billion-year-old bedrock in Gale Crater - believed to once contain a shallow lake the size of Florida's Lake Okeechobee - suggest conditions back then may have been conducive to life. That leaves open the possibility that microorganisms once populated our planetary neighbor and still might.

With files from The Associated Press.