Built by JPL, the Curiosity rover has been roaming around Gale Crater and Mount Sharp on Mars since 2012. (Photo: NASA) The Curiosity rover, part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, has found a mixture of organic molecules on Mars.

It contains chemicals that are considered the “building blocks of life”. NASA said seven of the 21 carbon-containing molecules in the sample have been detected on Mars for the first time.

The discovery renews confirmation that the Red Planet once had the right chemicals to support life. However, scientists have no way of being sure whether these molecules originated through a biological or geologic process. These molecules have now been added to the list of other compounds that have been preserved in rocks on Mars for billions of years, even after exposure to radiation, which can break down these molecules over time.