(NASA) - The Curiosity rover found organic material and mysterious methane on Mars that suggest evidence that the planet could have supported ancient life, NASA announced Thursday. Scientists used Curiosity to record methane levels in the atmosphere around the rover over the course of four and a half Earth years, or more than two Martian years. However, “we’re in a really good position to move forward looking for signs of life," said Jennifer Eigenbrode, a NASA biogeochemist and lead author of a study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Science. “I’m confident that our ongoing and planned missions will unlock even more breathtaking discoveries on the Red Planet.”

We’ve been exploring the surface of Mars in hopes of understanding the Red Planet since NASA’s Viking mission in the 1970s. “The Martian surface is exposed to radiation from space,” said Jen Eigenbrode, a study author and research scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center. "The detection of organic molecules and methane on Mars has far-ranging implications

in light of potential past life on Mars," said Inge Loes ten Kate, a Utrecht University scientist in an accompanying article in Science. “Are there signs of life on Mars?” asked Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters. “And then we went, ‘oops, not only did we not find it, but we don’t really know what we’re looking for if it’s not exactly like Earth.’ And maybe that was not the best way to go about it.”

Scientists realized that they had to take a step back and try a more cautious, methodical approach.
NASA announces the discovery of preserved organic matter in an ancient lake bed on Mars by its Curiosity rover. It has not been determined if the matter was potentially related to past life on Mars or not.