Is there life on Mars? Some reports say not possible, while others indicate there is a possibility. According to The Guardian, NASA has managed to locate water on Mars via the help of the Curiosity Rover. Now, this is not a lake of water, but instead it is water molecules bound to minerals in the Martian soil. However, apparently, there’s a lot of these water molecules, which could mean there’s a chance for microbial life on the red planet.

According to researchers, every cubic foot Martian soil contains two pints of water, which are signs enough that Mars is not the dry planet we’ve come to believe over the years. It could also mean that Mars was once booming with life, yet an unknown event took place that rid the planet of its identity.

“We tend to think of Mars as this dry place—to find water fairly easy to get out of the soil at the surface was exciting to me,” said Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, dean of science, Laurie Leshin to The Guardian. “We heat the soil up to 835C and drive off all the volatiles and measure them,” she said. “We have a very sensitive way to sniff those and we can detect the water and other things that are released.”

Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time Curiosity has come across water on Mars. Earlier this year, the robot found a type of clay that only be formed in neutral water; very exciting stuff.

We hope for NASA to obtain any form of evidence of life on Mars at this point, for it would force governments around the world to invest heavily in Space exploration once more. Another space race means faster advancement in technology, which will no doubt better us mere humans in the long haul.

[via The Guardian]