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Was there ever life in our neighboring planet Mars? There was a lake, a long time ago in the ancient planet that once filled much of the its huge Gale Crater. According to a new study by NASA’s Curiosity rover mission, this (Gale Crater) featured several potentially livable environments isolated by depth, similar to some body of water found on Earth.

Presence Of Gale Crater Lake Opens Door To Previous Life In Red Planet

The research further said that the Gale Crater lake in Mars not only had some properties similar to the existing lakes on our planet, but it had all the possibilities for the presence of microbial world. The scientists are of the opinion that in some part of the lake, the water carried more oxygen at certain times.

According to Astro Biology Magazine, the stratified bodies of water are said to be exhibiting huge chemical and physical differences between shallow water and deep water. In the Gale Crater lake in the Red Planet, the scientists have come to the conclusion that the shallow water was richer in oxidants compared to deeper water.

Joel Hurowitz, a geoscientist at Stony Brook University based in New York and the lead author of this report were surprised to see that these (shallow water and deeper water), although, very different from each other, were co-existing environments in the same lake.

“This type of oxidant stratification is a common feature of lakes on Earth, and now we have found it on Mars. The diversity of environments in this Martian lake would have provided multiple opportunities for different types of microbes to survive,” Hurowitz said, as reported by Deccan Herald.

Earth’s Mystery On Ancient Life’s Origin Might Give More Hints On Life On Mars

The scientists are considering how life on ancient Earth started in iron-rich and oxygen-free oceans. The findings on this are expected to help in discovering how ancient Mars had life in the similar habitable conditions.