According to reports, scientists have found that Mars is more similar to Earth than what was thought earlier. In a study, researchers made use of rock data collected by the Curiosity rover to find that several rocks in the Gale crater of Mars were having chemical composition similar to what was found in the Earth's crust.

The study has been published in Nature Geoscience. As per reports, the discovery will assist in knowing more about the history of Mars as a planet in addition to the composition of parts of the Red planet that are still unexplored by rovers like Curiosity.

The thinnest and outermost layer of a planet is known as its crust. When it comes to Earth, the rocks on land are generally lighter than the ones found in deeper oceans, or the crust of oceans.

The study has come up with evidence of this continental crust found on Mars. According to Mary Beth Griggs, a writer at Popular Science, "Scientists thought for a long time that Earth was the only planet with a continental crust, because typically it takes a very long time on a very active planet for the lighter rocks to rise to the surface”. Griggs added that formation into the chunks that comprise the continental crust also takes much time.

Data from 22 Martian rock samples was used by the researchers. Some of this data was gathered by Curiosity's ChemCam, which is a laser used by rover to reveal chemical composition of the rocks.