If life on Mars exists, it may be preserved in a frozen time capsule

A close up of a the reddish-brown surface of Mars with white streaks across it.

If life ever existed on Mars, traces of it might still be frozen beneath the planet's icy surface.

A new study from NASA and Penn State University suggests fragments of biomolecules from ancient microbes could survive in Martian ice for tens of millions of years — long enough for future missions to potentially find them, according to a statement from the university.