Microorganisms first appeared on Earth in ancient bodies of water around 3.7 billion years ago. But while Mars might have hosted substantial bodies of water around the same time, it’s tough for scientists to determine whether these otherworldly pools also harbored microbial life.

Planetary scientists in Algeria and Switzerland have developed a scientific instrument that could help hunt for signs of life on Mars. Used to locate microbial fossils in gypsum deposits here on Earth,

Searching for small fossils in big rocks requires specialized tools --tools that scientists could also use to look for evidence of life on Mars in rocks that may be similar on both planets.

"We proved that our instrument is capable of detecting signatures of life in gypsum," he added, suggesting it might help do the same on Mars. The research focused on gypsum formations that developed during the Messinian Salinity Crisis,

Scientists found fossil-like traces in gypsum, suggesting ancient microbial life may have existed on Mars billions of years ago.

Gypsum from Algeria stood in for Martian sulfate deposits However, in the distant past Mars was a very different place with a thicker atmosphere and so much liquid water that much of the surface ...

Scientists may finally have a way to detect ancient life on Mars by studying microbial fossils preserved in sulfate minerals. Gypsum deposits on Mars may be hiding evidence of past microbial life — similar to the first organisms that appeared on Earth four billion years ago.

Researchers tested this technology in gypsum deposits in Algeria, a geological site analogous to those on Mars. The results are encouraging: LIMS identified microbial filaments and minerals associated with life, such as dolomite and clay. These elements ...

What tests can be performed on Earth to help us find signs of ancient life on Mars? This is what a recent study published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Spa | Space

Scientists are using a laser-based tool to aid future Mars missions in identifying evidence of life on the Red Planet.