Curiosity Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars

2:42 pm

Tue March 12, 2013

Curiosity Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars

By Curtis Bisbee

Lead in text:

The patch of bedrock where Curiosity drilled for its first sample lies in an ancient network of stream channels descending from the rim of Gale Crater. The bedrock also is fine-grained mudstone and shows evidence of multiple periods of wet conditions, including nodules and veins.

Source: Nasa
| Via: Mike Krebs

March 12, 2013 PASADENA, Calif. -- An analysis of a rock sample collected by NASA's Curiosity rover shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes. Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon -- some of the key chemical ingredients for life -- in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater on the Red Planet last month.

All Content	closeNews podcasts Use iTunes Use a different player	RSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds

Now Playing

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

Most Active Stories

Curiosity Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars

2:42 pm

Tue March 12, 2013