Past life on Mars? Here's what new NASA evidence points to.

It doesn't appear to be a promising place for supporting life in the way humans know it.

The area is being surveyed by the rover.

The discoveries Curiosity sent back over millions of miles were not encouraging, at least when it comes to the likelihood of living organisms on the surface.

This doesn't rule out the possibility of an underground ecosystem or the development and disappearance of a surface ecosystem before these carbonates were formed.

On Monday, NASA scientists offered two possible explanations for how carbon-rich minerals may have appeared at Gale crater: Either the site alternated between periodic wet and dry conditions, or the environment had ice-infused with salt. These two ancient climate scenarios paint a dim and even more dismal picture for any potential life that might have existed there.

The climate in this region would fluctuate wildly, going from a wet to dry environment and back again in a cyclical pattern, according to co-author Jennifer Stern. Near the equator, where temperatures are frigid, it would be inhospitable for life, as the water would be frozen and out of reach for any sort of biological or chemical processes.

"And the taste is extremely salty and unpalatable," she said in a statement.

to bolster those ideas.

Scientists have been searching for life on Mars since NASA's first spacecraft landed on the planet's surface in 1976. Multiple robotic missions, led by the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, have found extensive evidence suggesting that Mars had a warmer and more humid climate over 3 billion years ago.

There is typically a significant amount of water located beneath Earth's surface. And wherever water exists in our planet, you'll often find life as well.

The minerals within the samples can preserve information about the conditions in which they were created, such as the water's temperature and acidity, as well as the composition of the water and air. To determine this, NASA's Curiosity rover subjected the samples to extremely high heat - over 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit - and then analyzed the gases released.

Heavier versions usually stick around and end up being part of rocks.

The lab results show clear signs of evaporation, indicating the water sources probably existed in a temporary, liquid state that melted ice temporarily under specific conditions of temperature and atmospheric pressure.

The heavy isotope values in the samples significantly exceed what's typically found on Earth for minerals made of carbonate. Additionally, the carbon and oxygen isotope values found in the samples are the most extreme recorded for any Martian material. Burtt pointed out that while changes in oxygen isotope values often occur due to evaporation on Earth, the variations detected in the Martian samples were roughly 2 to 3 times more pronounced.

There's no other explanation for these extremely high values of carbon and oxygen isotopes. They're far beyond anything seen on Earth or Mars, suggesting that some extraordinary process or processes must be occurring.

Beneath the surface of these subsurface lakes, scientists have discovered ancient volcanic vents. It's possible that they could contain liquid water, remnants of long-dead bacteria or fungi, or, some believe, potentially even living microbial life.

Scientists often ponder how certain microbes can thrive by breaking down rocks and using that matter for energy. The allure of discovering such bacteria near Martian caves keeps many astrobiologists eager to go on a Martian exploration mission.

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