Is this proof Mars once had life? Odd patchwork of polygon-shaped mud cracks suggests Red Planet used to have Earth-like conditions 3.6 billion years ago, scientists say

NASA's Curiosity rover has spent 11 years searching far and wide for signs of life on Mars. And now it has emerged that the car-sized robot may have found something. In 2021, it detected an unusual array of polygon-shaped cracks within the soil that scientists now believe is evidence that the Red Planet once had Earth-like conditions that could have allowed microorganisms to survive 3.6 billion years ago. The mysterious mud cracks on the bed of an ancient lake hint that wet and dry cycles comparable to the seasons we experience on our planet today may have existed on Mars. Such cycles are vital for encouraging the formation of carbon-based'polymers' - known as the building blocks of organic compounds and even DNA.