By instructing NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover to mix a sample of Martian dirt with chemical reagents inside a cup, a team of researchers successfully analysed a sample of Martian dirt initially picked up by the rover in March 2017.

According to Inverse, this combination then produced organic molecules that NASA has never discovered on the surface of Mars previously.

While this is an intriguing discovery, it does not prove that carbon-based life existed on Mars’ surface.

However, it is a step in the right direction. 

“This experiment was successful,” Maëva Millan, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center and lead author of a new study published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, said.

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Organic molecules are the building blocks of life on Earth, and they might be found elsewhere in the cosmos as well.

The Curiosity rover has already found organic compounds buried in Martian sediments, but the latest discoveries add to the list of organic molecules found on Mars, supporting the argument for past habitability.

The researchers are looking forward to the launch of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission in 2022, which will collect further samples from Mars.

The Perseverance rover is also gathering samples from the Martian surface, which will be sent to Earth and studied in a laboratory.

All of the many Martian missions contributed to the mystery of Mars’ history, including whether or not the Red Planet has ever harboured life and if that life has spawned life on Earth. 

(With inputs from agencies)