#1 A Suitable Home for Life: The Curiosity rover finds that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support living microbes. Curiosity finds sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon– key ingredients necessary for life–in the powder sample drilled from the “Sheepbed” mudstone in Yellowknife Bay. The sample also reveals clay minerals and not too much salt, which suggests fresh, possibly drinkable water once flowed there.Read More:

• NASA Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited For Ancient Life On Mars
• Two Different Aqueous Environments
• NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Nears Turning Point
• Studying Habitability in Ancient Martian Environments
• NASA Rover Confirms First Drilled Mars Rock Sample

References:

Grotzinger, et al., Habitability, Taphonomy, and the Search for Organic Carbon on Mars, Science, 343(6160):386-387, doi:10.1126/science.1249944, 2014.

#2 Organic Carbon Found in Mars Rocks: Organic molecules are the building blocks of life, and they were discovered on Mars after a long search by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument in a powdered rock sample from the “Sheepbed” mudstone in “Yellowknife Bay.” The finding doesn’t necessarily mean there is past or present life on Mars, but it shows that raw ingredients existed for life to get started there at one time. It also means that ancient organic materials can be preserved for us to recognize and study today.Read More:

• NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars

References:

Freissinet, C., et al., Organic Molecules in the Sheepbed Mudstone, Gale Crater, Mars, JGR, 120(3):495-514, doi: 10.1002/2014JE004737, 2015.

#3 Present and Active Methane in Mars’ Atmosphere: The Tunable Laser Spectrometer within the SAM instrument detected a background level of atmospheric methane and observed a ten-fold increase in methane over a two-month period. The discovery of methane is exciting because methane can be produced by living organisms or by chemical reactions between rock and water, for example. Which process is producing methane on Mars? What caused the brief and sudden increase?Read More:

• NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars
• Potential Sources and Sinks of Methane on Mars
• The Five Most Abundant Gases in the Martian Atmosphere
• Volatiles on Mars
• Shooting Lasers

References:

Webster, et al., Mars Methane Detection and Variability at Gale Crater, Science, 347(6220):415-417, doi:10.1126/science.1261713, 2015.

#4 Radiation Could Pose Health Risks for Humans: During her trip to Mars, Curiosity experienced radiation levels exceeding NASA’s career limit for astronauts. The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument on Curiosity found that two forms of radiation pose potential health risks to astronauts in deep space. One is galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), particles caused by supernova explosions and other high-energy events outside the solar system. The other is solar energetic particles (SEPs) associated with solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun. NASA will use Curiosity’s data to design missions to be safe for human explorersRead More:

• NASA Rover Providing New Weather And Radiation Data About Mars
• Longer-Term Radiation Variations at Gale Crater
• Data From NASA Rover’s Voyage To Mars Aids Planning
• NASA Curiosity: First Mars Age Measurement and Human Exploration Help

References:

Zeitlin, C., et al., Measurements of Energetic Particle Radiation in Transit to Mars on the Mars Science Laboratory, Science, 340(6136):1080-1084, doi:10.1126/science.1235989, 2013.Hassler, D.M., et al., Mars’ Surface Radiation Environment Measured with the Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity rover, Science, 343(6169), 1244797, doi:10.1126/science.1244797, 2014.

#5 A Thicker Atmosphere and More Water in Mars’ Past: The SAM instrument suite has found Mars’ present atmosphere to be enriched in the heavier forms (isotopes) of hydrogen, carbon, and argon. These measurements indicate that Mars has lost much of its original atmosphere and inventory of water. This loss occurred to space through the top of the atmosphere, a process currently being observed by the MAVEN orbiter.Read More:

• NASA Rover Finds Clues to Changes in Mars’ Atmosphere
• Remaining Martian Atmosphere Still Dynamic
• NASA Rover Confirms Mars Origin of Some Meteorites
• NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars
• Argon Isotopes Provide Robust Signature of Atmospheric Loss

References:

Mahaffy. P.R., Abundance and isotopic composition of gases in the martian atmosphere from the Curiosity rover, Science, 341(6143):263-266, doi:10.1126/science.1237966, 2013.Webster, et al., Mars Methane Detection and Variability at Gale Crater, Science, 347(6220):415-417, doi:10.1126/science.1261713, 2015.

#6 Curiosity Finds Evidence of An Ancient Streambed: The rocks found by Curiosity are smooth and rounded and likely rolled downstream for at least a few miles. They look like a broken sidewalk, but they are actually exposed bedrock made of smaller fragments cemented together, or what geologists call a sedimentary conglomerate. They tell a story of a steady stream of flowing water about knee deep.