San Francisco, December 19: NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted on the planet, clues about water and red rocks that contain carbonate minerals. This is a significant news for scientist for search of life on Mars.

According to scientists, the minerals found on Mars were formed more than 3.6 billion years ago and the existence of the rocks containing carbonates indicates that different types of watery environments had existed on Mars.

Scott Murchie, spectrometer's principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland said, "We're excited to have finally found carbonate minerals because they provide more detail about conditions during specific periods of Mars' history".

When water and carbon dioxide react with calcium, iron or magnesium, it produces carbonate rock. But on the earth, carbonate is usually associated with limestone or chalk. Some researchers think that atmosphere on Mars must have contained thick carbon dioxide from ancient time and also contained water on its surface.

The reports clearly stated the existence of carbonate rocks found on a mid-latitude region called the Nili Fossae, which is on the western edge of the Isidis impact basin. This region has rocks enriched with the mineral, olivine. The olivine on reacting with water produces carbonate.

Richard Zurek, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) project scientists said, "If you preserve carbonates on the surface then you know carbon-bearing compounds can survive in some environments on the planet. That means there are some places we can go and look for evidence for past life - if it ever existed.”

According to the NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, carbonate is found in the soil samples of the Red planet. But the origin of carbonate is unclear because some areas of planet contains mixture of dust and soil. There is a possibility that many large carbonate formations may have vanished over a time, as they were formed many years ago.

Sue Smrekar, deputy project scientist for the orbiter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif said, "This discovery of carbonates in an intact rock layer, in contact with clays, is an example of how joint observations by CRISM and the telescopic cameras on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are revealing details of distinct environments on Mars".

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has suggested some location on planet where future rovers and landers could search for evidence of life.