Sentences with phrase «to support microbial life»

Curiosity begins a two - year investigation of whether Mars is or ever was capable of supporting microbial life.

Even if Mars ever supported microbial life form (s), that does not mean it could support or even could have ever supported humanlike life form.

Data from the instrument can improve the understanding of the history of Martian climate and if conditions on early Mars may have been conducive for supporting microbial life.

Curiosity touched down on the night of Aug. 5, 2012, kicking off a mission to determine if Mars has ever been capable of supporting microbial life.

The 1 - ton rover touched down on the night of Aug. 5, 2012 U.S. Pacific Time (early morning Aug. 6 EDT and GMT), kicking off a two - year surface mission to determine if Mars could have ever supported microbial life.

That's because the ions of dissolved salt hold on to so many water molecules that few are left to support microbial life.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is expected to spend at least two years exploring Gale Crater to determine if the region could have ever supported microbial life.

Scientists think Titan may also be able to support microbial life (though if that life teems in the hydrocarbon seas, it will be very different than organisms here on Earth).

Cassini scientists later determined that this material is coming from a big underground ocean, which appears to be capable of supporting microbial life.

But astronomers keep adding to the inventory of potentially habitable planets, and the science team behind the Curiosity rover continues to find tantalizing hints that Mars may have - or may still - support microbial life.

NASA said the yet - to - be-named rover would use spare parts and engineering models developed for the Curiosity rover, which is now four months into a planned $ 2.5 billion mission on Mars, looking for habitats that could have supported microbial life.

With its three cameras, four spectrometers, two radiation detectors, and weather monitoring station, MSL's primary goal is to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support microbial life.

In 2013, rover found evidence that Gale Crater once had an ancient freshwater - lake environment that possessed the basic chemical ingredients to support microbial life.