Mars could have supported life: NASA

　　WASHINGTON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- An analysis of a rock sample collected by NASA's Curiosity rover shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes, U.S. space agency NASA said Tuesday.

　　Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon -- some of the key chemical ingredients for life -- in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater on the Red Planet last month.

　　"A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program. "From what we know now, the answer is yes."

　　Clues to this habitable environment come from data returned by the rover's Sample Analysis at Mars, and Chemistry and Mineralogy instruments. The data indicate the Yellowknife Bay area the rover is exploring was the end of an ancient river system or an intermittently wet lake bed that could have provided chemical energy and other favorable conditions for microbes. The rock is made up of a fine grain mudstone containing clay minerals, sulfate minerals and other chemicals. This ancient wet environment, unlike some others on Mars, was not harshly oxidizing, acidic, or extremely salty.

　　Scientists plan to work with Curiosity in the Yellowknife Bay area for many more weeks before beginning a long drive to Gale Crater's central mound, Mount Sharp. Investigating the stack of layers exposed on Mount Sharp, where clay minerals and sulfate minerals have been identified from orbit, may add information about the duration and diversity of habitable conditions.

　　Curiosity, loaded with the most-sophisticated instruments ever used to explore another world, touched down on the Red Planet on Aug. 6 last year. It will use its 10 instruments to investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life.

　　“好奇”号确证火星曾有宜居环境

　　新华网华盛顿3月12日电(记者任海军)美国航天局12日宣布，“好奇”号火星车对火星基岩样品的分析显示，火星古代环境确曾适合生命存在。

　　上月，“好奇”号利用机械臂末端的钻头钻取了火星表面一块基岩的样品，这也是人类设计的机器人首次获取火星岩石样本。“好奇”号配备的火星样本分析仪、化学与矿物学分析仪对其进行了分析，结果显示，样品中含有磷、氮、氢、氧、碳，这些都是支持生命存在的关键化学成分。

　　“‘好奇’号项目要回答的一个关键问题是火星是否支持宜居环境，”美航天局火星探索项目首席科学家迈克尔?迈耶说，“从我们当前所知而言，答案是肯定的。”

　　美国航天局介绍说，“好奇”号钻探的这块岩石含有粘土矿物和硫酸盐矿物。岩石所在区域可能是一个古代河流系统或间歇性湿润湖床的尽头。与火星其他地方不同，这一湿润系统的氧化、酸化及含盐程度都不高。

　　美国航天局表示，“好奇”号将在目前所在区域停留数周，并钻探第二块岩石，随后前往主要目的地――盖尔郧坑内的夏普山。不过，由于将发生“行星连珠”现象，在4月的大部分时间中，火星上空承担信号中继的探测器将与地面控制中心失去联系，因此“好奇”号的钻探工作预计在5月前不会启动。

　　2012年8月6日，“好奇”号在盖尔陨坑中心山脉的山脚下成功着陆，旨在探索火星过去及现在是否有适宜生命存在的环境。