Is this life on Mars? New discovery on red planet

 
This set of NASA handout images compares the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (L) with similar rocks seen on Earth (R). The image of Link taken September 2, 2012 and released September 27, 2012, was obtained by NASA's Curiosity rover and shows rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters), within the rock outcrop. The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together. A typical Earth example of sedimentary conglomerate formed of gravel fragments in a stream is shown on the right. REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS and PSI/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
10 October 2012

Mars rover Curiosity has made its first scoop of the surface of the planet and has detected a bright object on the ground, Nasa says.

Officials said they suspect the object might be a part of the six-wheeled rover, but they will not sample or scoop any more until they figure out what it is.

Curiosity has already beamed back pictures of bedrock which suggest a fast-moving stream once flowed on the Red Planet.

The rover landed on August 5 and is on a two-year, 2.5 billion US dollar (£1.5 billion) mission to study whether microbial life could have existed on Mars in the past.

Today's Mars is a frozen desert, but previous geological studies suggest it was once warmer and wetter.

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