NASA's Curiosity rover found signs that may have supported life on Mars, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The Curiosity rover discovered an ancient lake that existed for tens of millions of years, the reports said. The ancient freshwater lake could have been made up of tiny organism that could support life. The scientists running the program said that, theoretically, the ancient lake could have been drinkable. It was possible that it harbored carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
The ancient lake was located near the red planet's equator and estimated to have existed for about 3.5 billion years ago. Part of the findings show that the dried up ancient lake was neither salty nor acidic, and contained nutrients enough to support microbes.
"This just looks like a pretty darn ordinary Earth-like lake in terms of its chemistry," John Grotzinger, project scientist of the California Institute of Technology, told the Associated Press. "If you were desperate, you could have a drink of this stuff."
According to scientists, even if the ancient lake dried up, it's possible that microbes could have migrated underground, which could lead to habitable conditions. Scientists estimated that Mars was potentially habitable for tens of millions of years. However, Curiosity lacks the tools to look for fossilized microbes.
The Curiosity findings were published online in Science and were presented in San Francisco at the American Geophysical Union.
"The new results definitely reinforce the idea that past life on Mars was possible," David Paige, planetary scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles said in an email to the Associated Press.
The Mars we now know shows no signs of surface water. It's dusty and harsh making it unlivable, but the new findings show that it could have been a more tropical planet with plentiful supply of water. Scientists think that the red planet have provided life support that would allow primitive organisms to thrive by feeding on rocks and minerals similar to those found on Earth.
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