NASA finds potential signs of ancient life in Mars rock samples: Details unveiled

Discovery Details

On July 21, the Perseverance rover collected a sample from an arrowhead-shaped rock in the Neretva Vallis riverbed, which formed long ago when water flowed into Jezero Crater. The science team operating Perseverance has nicknamed this rock “Chevaya Falls.” Utilizing the rover’s SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) instrument, the team conducted multiple scans of the rock. These scans revealed distinctive colourful spots containing iron and phosphate, which are indicative of certain chemical reactions that, on Earth, are often associated with the fossilized record of subsurface microbial life.

David Flannery, an astrobiologist from the Queensland University of Technology and a member of the Perseverance science team, remarked, “These spots are a big surprise. On Earth, these types of features in rocks are often associated with the fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface.” However, he emphasized that this discovery does not constitute direct evidence of past microbial life on Mars.

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Implications and Next Steps

The presence of iron and phosphate in the rock, along with organic chemicals, suggests a plausible source of energy for microbes and is consistent with the possibility of ancient life. However, confirming extraterrestrial life involves a rigorous seven-step process known as the CoLD scale (Confidence of Life Detection). The detection of these spots represents just the first step. Scientists must still rule out non-biological possibilities and identify other signals to confirm the presence of off-world life.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has exhausted its instrumentation studying Chevaya Falls. “We have zapped that rock with lasers and X-rays and imaged it literally day and night from just about every angle imaginable,” said Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist. “Scientifically, Perseverance has nothing more to give.”

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The discovery of Chevaya Falls adds momentum to NASA’s efforts to plan a Mars Sample Return mission. While previous plans have been deemed too expensive, the space agency is exploring alternative, cost-effective means of returning Martian samples to Earth for detailed analysis. Rocks like Chevaya Falls underscore the importance of such missions, as studying them in advanced Earth-based laboratories could yield significant insights into the potential for ancient life on Mars.

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