Curiosity in Mars

National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Curiosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life.

It has also found new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the search for current life on the Red Planet.

The new findings include "tough" organic molecules in three-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks near the surface, as well as seasonal variations in the levels of methane in the atmosphere.

Methane is considered the simplest organic molecule. It is present in other places in our solar system that could host life, like Saturn and Jupiter's moons.

Researchers believe the findings, detailed in two studies published in Science, to be "breakthroughs in astrobiology". They are good sign for future missions exploring the planet's surface and subsurface.

Curiosity's data provides a clearer and more conclusive picture of the conditions and processes on Mars and what it may have been like on the planet billions of years ago, when conditions were more suitable for life.

"With these new findings, Mars is telling us to stay the course and keep searching for evidence of life," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at the NASA Headquarters.