New evidence shows that volcanic activity may have occurred on Mars in the past 50,000 years indicating that the red planet might have recently been habitable, a new study published in the journal Icarus explains.

Though Mars' most volcanic period is thought to have occurred between 3 and 4 billion years ago, researchers from the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the Planetary Science Institute said they have uncovered evidence showing the red planet might still be volcanically active today.

If this were the case, microbial life may have existed relatively recently in certain regions, giving future Mars missions an indication of where to look in the continued pursuit for evidence of life on the planet.

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