A new and more in depth study of the Curiosity rover's images of Mars report that ancient sedimentary rocks on Mars have similar structures and microbes to those here on Earth.

These findings suggest the photos could be considered as evidence of ancient life on Mars. This doesn't prove anything about early life on the Red Planet, however.

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NASA's Curiosity has taken thousands of photos of Martian terrain over the years. Among these photos are those of the Gillespie Lake outcrop in Yellowknife Bay, which is a dry lakebed that went through seasonal floods billions of years ago.

Scientists believe Mars and Earth share the same evolutionary process that took billions of years. Basic organisms found on Earth can be described as mat-like colonies that were home to minute microbes in underwater sediments such as lake beds and coastal regions.

These cellular structures are called microbially-induced sedimentary structures (MISS) and are found all over the world. MISS reveals the Earth's ancient evolutionary history.

MISS that are believed to be 3.48 billion years-old and indigenous to Australia's Dresser Formation are the oldest evidence of life on the Earth, according to Nora Noffke, a geobiologist from the Old Dominion University in Virginia. She spent the last 20 years studying these microbial organisms.

Noffke further details the similarities between MISS found on Earth and the Martian sedimentary structures found in the Gillespie Lake outcrop, which is about the same age as Earth's, or 3.7 billion years-old.

The report describes striking features that are both similar to one another. These features include pockets, domes pits and even chips and cracks from a few centimeters to kilometers in length.

This still isn't solid proof or evidence about ancient life on Mars. There also isn't enough ample proof these microbial structures were indeed shaped by biological processes.

This confirmation can only be made by returning Martian rock samples back to Earth for intensive analysis.

This study was published in the journal, Astrobiology.  

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