By Rafal Rogoza (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Mar 12, 2013 12:37 PM EDT

NASA is preparing to hold a news conference to discuss the findings of the Curiosity Rover's analysis of Martian rocks, the conference will be live streamed here.

The briefing is scheduled to begin at 1 pm and will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.

Live video by Ustream

Expected speakers include:

 -- Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington

-- John Grotzinger, Curiosity project scientist, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.

-- David Blake, principal investigator for Curiosity's Chemistry and Mineralogy investigation, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

-- Paul Mahaffy, principal investigator for Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars investigation, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

During a two-year prime mission, researchers are using Curiosity's 10 science instruments to assess whether the Gale Crater area on Mars ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity successfully loaded the collected sample into this internal lab and began analysis on Feb. 25.

2:05 p.m.:

More images available at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-092

1:55 p.m.:

1:54 p.m.: C00lKlD #askNASA So is Mars really not red? @MarsCuriosity dug down and it was a grey soil like powder...

1:49 p.m: jssbnny716 "We found a habitable environment(on Mars)if you had been around when the water was you could have drank that water." #NASA @MarsCuriosity

1:45 p.m.: Reactions:

furiouscabbage @MarsCuriosity found evidence that drinkable water once existed on Mars? Amazing! Science is awesome!

marikatarasashvili That's good news for those who seek for colonization and Terraformation purposes..  

Contender18 seas, lakes and rivers..

1:36 p.m.:


1:32 p.m.:

1:31 p.m.: 

Audience members can chat live at the NASA Ustream channel: 1:29 NASAJPL: Curiosity rover has detected the simple carbon-containing compounds chloro- and dichloromethane,info here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-092#8

1:27 p.m.:  Evidence in the area where sample was collected indicates it used to be a lake bed.

1:26 p.m.: For more info about the SAM instrument visit: https://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov/Instruments/SAM/  

1:21 p.m.: Gallery of today's briefing can be seen at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-092  

1:17 p.m.: John Grotzinger, chief scientist on MS, says following found: water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, forms of sulfer

1:11 p.m.: Curiosity's findings indicate Mars could have had the necessary conditions for life in the past:

12:56 p.m.: The briefing is about to begin. For additional details visit the following Twitter accounts: