Summary:
- NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered the largest organic molecules ever found on Mars, providing more evidence that the planet could have supported microbial life in the past.
- The organic compounds were found in 3-billion-year-old mudstone samples collected by Curiosity, suggesting that Mars once had the necessary chemical building blocks and environments to support life.
- These findings, along with previous discoveries of organic compounds and evidence of ancient habitable environments on Mars, strengthen the case that Mars may have once hosted life, and could help guide future missions to the Red Planet in the search for signs of past or present life.