1.3 bln yr old Martian meteorite may point to possibility of life on 'red planet'

Analysis of 1.3 billion years old Martian meteorite has helped researchers provide more evidence of the possibility of life on Mars.

Dr Elias Chatzitheodoridis of the National Technical University of Athens found an unusual feature embedded deep within the rock, known as Nakhla, and they found a 'cell-like' structure, which investigators now know once held water.

Professor Lyon, based in Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, said that in many ways it resembled a fossilised biological cell from Earth but it was intriguing because it was undoubtedly from Mars.

The research found that it probably wasn't a cell but that it did once hold water that had been heated, probably as a result of an asteroid impact, he further added.

It also added to a body of evidence suggesting that large asteroids hit Mars in the past and produce long-lasting hydrothermal fields that could sustain life on Mars, even in later epochs, if life ever emerged there.

The study is published in the journal Astrobiology.