Microorganisms first appeared on Earth in ancient bodies of water around 3.7 billion years ago. But while Mars might have hosted substantial bodies of water around the same time, it’s tough for scientists to determine whether these otherworldly pools also harbored microbial life.

Planetary scientists in Algeria and Switzerland have developed a scientific instrument that could help hunt for signs of life on Mars. Used to locate microbial fossils in gypsum deposits here on Earth,

Searching for small fossils in big rocks requires specialized tools --tools that scientists could also use to look for evidence of life on Mars in rocks that may be similar on both planets.

"We proved that our instrument is capable of detecting signatures of life in gypsum," he added, suggesting it might help do the same on Mars. The research focused on gypsum formations that developed during the Messinian Salinity Crisis,

The question of whether life once existed on Mars may be answered by a new laser instrument from the University of Bern. The device can be carried by a rover to zap samples of the Red Planet to see if they contain traces of microfossils.

Scientists found fossil-like traces in gypsum, suggesting ancient microbial life may have existed on Mars billions of years ago.

Scientists may finally have a way to detect ancient life on Mars by studying microbial fossils preserved in sulfate minerals. Gypsum deposits on Mars may be hiding evidence of past microbial life — similar to the first organisms that appeared on Earth four billion years ago.

The first life on Earth formed four billion years ago, as microbes living in pools and seas: what if the same thing happened on Mars? If it did, how would we prove it? Scientists hoping to identify fossil evidence of ancient Martian microbial life have now found a way to test their hypothesis,

What tests can be performed on Earth to help us find signs of ancient life on Mars? This is what a recent study published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Spa | Space

Scientists are using a laser-based tool to aid future Mars missions in identifying evidence of life on the Red Planet.

Gypsum deposits formed on Mars could conceal evidence of past life on the planet — microbes similar to the first life that formed on Earth four billion years ago. But to test this hypothesis, we need the right instruments.