As humans, we are naturally inclined to wonder about whether there is life on other planets. Could it possibly just be us in this entire solar system? Has it always been this way?

We have songs like Life On Mars dedicated to it, many films such as The Martian exploring the potentials of space travel and of course, we even have the Curiosity rover out there right now, exploring the planet and reporting back findings. 

Now, the rover has discovered the largest organic compounds ever seen on Mars, which could indicate that life once existed on the planet billions of years ago.

There really could have been life on Mars once

On their website, NASA says: “Curiosity scientists had previously discovered small, simple organic molecules on Mars, but finding these larger compounds provides the first evidence that organic chemistry advanced toward the kind of complexity required for an origin of life on Mars.”

This comes after news that the climate on Mars is more wet and habitable than we previously thought, providing hope for the future of Mars studies.

“There is evidence that liquid water existed in Gale Crater for millions of years and probably much longer, which means there was enough time for life-forming chemistry to happen in these crater-lake environments on Mars,” said Daniel Glavin, senior scientist for sample return at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

So, what happens next in Mars studies?

The samples gathered by Curiosity are ready to come home to be further researched, according to Glavin. There is a limit to how much scientists can infer from the instruments sent to Mars.

In a statement he assures: “We are ready to take the next big step and bring Mars samples home to our labs to settle the debate about life on Mars.”

How exciting.