NASA scientists say tests on a Mars rock show the planet could have supported primitive life.    

The analysis was done by the rover Curiosity, which drilled into the rock, crushed it and tested a tiny sample. The rover was the first spacecraft sent to Mars that could collect a sample from deep inside a rock.    

At a briefing at NASA's Washington headquarters on Tuesday, NASA scientist said the rock contains clay minerals that formed in a watery environment, an environment that may be favourable for microscopic organisms.   

  Curiosity had already found a hint of the site's watery past, an ancient streambed that the six-wheel rover crossed to get to the flat bedrock.

Photo Reuter/NASA