NASA's Curiosity rover made an interesting discovery when it detected traces of nitrogen on the red planet's surface on Tuesday.

The detection was made using the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the rover, NASA revealed in a press release. The in the form of nitric oxide and deemed 'biologically useful'.

SAM heated various samples taken from the planet's surface, which likely , according to the BBC.

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Nitrogen is key to the structure of life forms and is a component of the building blocks that create DNA, RNA and proteins, says NASA.

In order to take part in the creation of organisms, , able to combine with additional molecules, Slash Gear explains. The nitrogen found in Mars' atmosphere, similar to that in Earth's, is molecular nitrogen or N2.This form does not easily blend with other molecules.

Because of this, NASA believes the nitrates derived from ancient, non-biological processes, such as lightning strikes or meteorite impacts.

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Jennifer Stern, a geochemist and space research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said, "Finding a biochemically accessible form of nitrogen is more support for the ancient Martian environment at Gale Crater being habitable."

Rover scientists examined the nitrates in samples of surface sand, dust and mudstones, the BBC reported.

The amount of nitrates discovered at the drill sites was equivalent to 1,100 parts per million nitrates, and energy from meteorite impacts likely created the molecules, Stern concluded.

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Glimpse of 'Bagnold Dunes' Edging Mount Sharp. (NASA / Mars Curiosity)