life on Mars

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Research Counters 1996 Report on Evidence of Past Life on Mars

Scientists had doubted first claims about meteorite after 1984 discovery

(Newser) - A 4 billion-year-old meteorite from Mars that caused a splash on Earth decades ago contains no evidence of ancient, primitive Martian life after all, scientists reported Thursday. In 1996, a NASA-led team announced that organic compounds in the rock appeared to have been left by living creatures. Other scientists were...

Mars Rover Finds Possible New Sign of Life on Mars

The Curiosity rover detected a puff of gas

(Newser) - It's been a while, but Martian methane is back. NASA's Curiosity rover detected rich amounts of methane in the planet's air on Wednesday, reigniting hope of life on Mars, the New York Times reports. "Given this surprising result, we've reorganized the weekend to run a...

Looks Like an Asteroid Once Triggered a Tsunami on Mars

And that means water, and lots of it

(Newser) - A new study suggests that ancient Mars not only had an ocean, it experienced a tsunami unlike anything we've seen on Earth, reports Cosmos . The study in the Journal of Geophysical Research—Planets identifies a 75-mile-wide crater in the north as the likely source, reports the BBC . The scientists...

Mars Rover Finds Evidence of 'Very Earth-Like' Lake

It might have supported life for millions of years

(Newser) - The Curiosity rover has discovered evidence of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars that was brimming with the key chemicals necessary to support microbial life, and its findings suggest that it could have held that life more recently than we thought—and possibly for millions of years before that. "...

We've Found Water on Mars—a 'Surprising Amount'

Two pints per cubic foot of soil, to be exact

(Newser) - If you hear a dull roar, it's probably just the collective scream of science buffs the world over. NASA's Curiosity rover has found water in Mars' soil, and the BBC describes it as a "surprising amount." The find occurred at the hands of Curiosity, which scooped...

Study Suggests Earth Life Began on Mars

Building blocks of life may have arrived via meteorite: scientist

(Newser) - Were our earliest ancestors Martians? A new study suggests that all life on Earth may have originated on the Red Planet, the BBC reports. That's because Mars would have had plenty of the minerals that are best at forging RNA, which is one of the key components of life...

NASA: Yep, Mars Could Have Supported Life

Soil sample dug up by Curiosity proves it

(Newser) - NASA scientists examining their first sample of Martian rock dug out by the rover Curiosity found some remarkable things in there: sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and carbon. In other words, ingredients that show the planet once could have supported life. Lead scientist Michael Mayer sums it up thusly:
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Martian Soil Is a Lot Like ... Hawaii's?

Curiosity scans soil sample

(Newser) - Aloha, Mars! The Curiosity rover has scanned a sample of Martian soil, and the ground composition on the Red Planet isn't all that unlike Hawaii's, reports the BBC . It's not a huge surprise to NASA scientists, who theorized that the soil would be comprised of "materials...

World's Hardiest Creatures Survive 'Martian Soil'

Researchers seek to keep Earth stowaways away from Mars

(Newser) - A tiny but incredibly tough creature called the tardigrade has been identified as the Earth-dweller most likely to hitch a ride to Mars and survive once there—indicating that our methods for sterilizing Mars rovers may not be up to snuff. The millimeter-long creature, also known as the water bear,...

Massive Ocean Once Covered 36% of Mars

And it had 10 times as much water as Earth

(Newser) - A vast ocean once covered more than a third of Mars’ surface, containing 10 times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined, according to new research. Scientists studying what appear to be ancient, dried out river systems found 52 delta regions that all lay at about the same...

In Meteor, NASA Sees Best Evidence Yet of Life on Mars

Martian meteorite shows fossilized bacteria

(Newser) - A Martian meteorite that hit Antarctica 13,000 years ago offers “very strong evidence of life on Mars,” say NASA scientists after concluding that microscopic worm-like structures in the rock are almost certainly fossilized bacteria. The meteorite, which broke off the Red Planet millions of years ago, also...

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