NASA Rover Finds Clue to Mars' Past and Environment for Life

Lengthy detective work with data NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit collected in late 2005 has confirmed that an outcrop called "Comanche" contains a mineral indicating that a past environment was wet and non-acidic, possibly favorable to life.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Rocks examined by NASA's Spirit Mars Rover hold evidence of a wet, non-acidic ancient environment that may have been favorable for life. Confirming this mineral clue took four years of analysis by several scientists. An outcrop that Spirit examined in late 2005 revealed high concentrations of carbonate, which originates in wet, near-neutral conditions, but dissolves in acid.

The ancient water indicated by this find was not acidic. NASA's rovers have found other evidence of formerly wet Martian environments. However the data for those environments indicate conditions that may have been acidic. In other cases, the conditions were definitely acidic, and therefore less favorable as habitats for life. Laboratory tests helped confirm the carbonate identification.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7fd4601894f0.jpg[/atsimg]

The findings were published online Thursday, June 3 by the journal Science. "This is one of the most significant findings by the rovers," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Squyres is principal investigator for the Mars twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and a co-author of the new report. "A substantial carbonate deposit in a Mars outcrop tells us that conditions that could have been quite favorable for life were present at one time in that place. "

Rest of it here
www.jpl.nasa.gov...

Nice job - I wasn't aware of this ongoing project, and damn glad to hear it confirm what many of us have suspected for a long time.

Maybe I'm confused, but hasn't this question of life on Mars already been answered in the re-examination of the fossilized bacteria from the 1996 meteorite? Were the initial findings confirmed or not? anyone?

Really makes food for thought for the "Life on Earth Seeded" theory. Intentionally or not, it's possible that we are renting this place, as our "home" is no longer able to support life. Interesting!