It's Alive!

Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and carbon in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed on Mars.The data indicates area the rover is exploring was the end of an ancient river system or a wet lakebed that could have provided chemical energy for microbes. The rock is made up of a fine-grained 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.