In those drill sites, Curiosity detected deposits containing an iron carbonate material called siderite. According to Ben Tutolo, a University of Calgary associate professor of Earth, Energy, and Environment Studies as well as a NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team, the data marks a major moment in the search for extraterrestrial life.

The Curiosity rover detected the largest organic molecules to date on Mars, which may be fragments of fatty acids, or some of the chemical building blocks of life.

NASA claims that new clues uncovered by its Curiosity rover could prove to revolutionise humanity's understanding of Mars's past. One of the prevalent theories about the 'red planet' suggests that it was once enveloped by a thick,