Water on Mars of these salts". NASA also reported that Jake M rock, a rock encountered by "Curiosity" on the way to Glenelg, was a mugearite and very similar to terrestrial mugearite rocks. On December 9, 2013, NASA reported that Mars once had a large freshwater lake inside Gale Crater, that could have been a hospitable environment for microbial life. On December 16, 2014, NASA reported detecting an unusual increase, then decrease, in the amounts of methane in the atmosphere of the planet Mars; in addition, organic chemicals were detected in powder drilled from a rock by the "Curiosity" rover. Also, based on
Human mission to Mars routine maintenance, and the harvesting of Martian resources for fuel, water, and building materials. NASA is still aiming for human missions to Mars in the 2030s, though Earth independence could take decades longer. In November 2015, Administrator Bolden of NASA reaffirmed the goal of sending humans to Mars. He laid out 2030 as the date of a crewed surface landing, and noted that planned 2020 Mars rover would support the human mission. Also discussed was the use of robotics to prepare an underground habitat for the arriving people. He noted the advantages of living underground on Mars, especially that it