Scientists have shed new light on how the ingredients for life formed on Mars, and it could guide our search for aliens on other distant worlds.
A study of Martian meteorites shows that salt water and volcanic rock were all that was needed to form organic carbon on Mars - one of the key buildings blocks of life.
A similar process could have spawned the chemical at any spot in the solar system where igneous rocks are surrounded by salty brines, researchers said.
This includes the mysterious subsurface oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus - icy worlds that some scientists believe host alien life.
To read more, click here.