If there ever was, is, or will be, life on Mars, it had better like eating asparagus.

Nasa scientists who have reviewed the results of the first analysis of soil collected by the Phoenix Mars lander say they were 'flabbergasted' to find that it contained all the basic requirements, in terms of minerals and nutrients, to sustain life on the Red Planet.

It was also much less acidic than the experts had expected - and suprisingly similar to garden dirt back on Earth.

“There is nothing about the soil that would preclude life. In fact it seems very friendly,” said Professor Samuel Kounaves of Tufts University, the project’s lead chemist, told reporters in a telephone conference.

“The soil you have there is the type of soil you have in your backyard,” he added. “You may be able to grow asparagus very well."

The analysis is based on a cubic centimetre of soil scooped up by the lander’s robotic arm and introduced into one of its eight ovens, where it was gradually heated up to 1,000C. Professor Kounaves said his team was “flabbergasted” at the results that came back.

“We basically have found what appears to be the requirements of the nutrients to support life, past, present or future," he said.

The analysis showed that the Martian soil contained minerals including magnesium, potassium and sodium. “There are probably other mineral species, we are still working on data,” Professor Kounaves said.

The analysis by the Phoenix lander's Microscopy, Electroscopy and Conductivity Analyser instrument also provided further evidence that, at some point in the history of Mars, there had been liquid water action.

“It’s very similar to the soil analysis results we got from some dried places on Earth: this is the very exciting part,” said Professor Kounaves.

The lander’s robotic arm started digging trenches into the Martian soil after touching down near the planet’s north pole on May 25, revealing a white substance that scientists had said was ice.

“The specific data coming out of instrument has just been spectacular,” added William Boynton from the University of Arizona, another member of the project team.

“What we can say now is that the soil clearly has interacted with water in the past, but we don’t know whether that interaction occurred in this particular area in the northern region or if it might have happen elsewhere."

Michael Hecht, a Nasa soil analysis specialist, described how one colleague “jumped up and down as if he had the winning lottery ticket” when he heard that the sample had shown a PH or around 8 or 9 - making it as alkaline as seawater. Some had expected it to show a PH of just 1, making it too acidic to support life.

But Dr Hecht warned that, although if astronauts set up greenhouses around the Phonenix lander they could grow basic crops such as asparagus, turnips or green beans, they might not have so much luck with acid-loving crops such as blueberries, strawberries or other fruit.

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