The strange nodule of unusual minerals found in Mars’ spotted rocks provide more appetizing cues than ancient life might have once flourished on a now-dead planet, NASA says.
NASA’s patient rover found such an arrow-shaped rock called Chayaba Falls along the North Bank of Neretvavalis in 2024.
The initial analysis of rocks that appeared in the lake bed layer known as bright angels revealed that they were packed with organic compounds, evidence of water once flowing, and contained leopard-like spots from chemical reactions that ancient microbes could use for energy.
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These functions can arise from non-biological processes that have been occurring over millions of years. However, now, in a new study published in Nature on September 10th, NASA scientists have published interesting details about additional rock samples found at two nearby sites.
“A year after the review, they came back and they said, they heard, they couldn’t find another explanation,” NASA administrator Sean Duffy said in a news briefing after the announcement. “So this could be the most obvious sign of life we’ve found on Mars, but this is extremely exciting.”
Since arriving on Mars in 2021, perseverance has been ramming through the 30-mile (50-kilometer) Jezero Crater, gathering dozens of rock samples to eventually return to Earth. Finding the rocks in the leopard spot, scans by the rover’s travelable environment showed that the habitable environment (specimens contain carbon-based molecules and feature spots of iron and phosphate, with Raman and luminescence of organic and chemical (Sherloc) instruments.
Related: Scientists find sea tips of liquid water hidden beneath the surface of Mars
“When Rover entered Bright Angel and began measuring the composition of the local rocks, the team was immediately impressed by how different it was from what we had seen before,” said Michael Tess, a geoscientist and astrobiologist at Texas A&M University, in a statement. “They presented evidence of chemical cycling that the creatures on Earth could be used to produce energy, and as we got closer, we saw something that would be easier to explain in early Mars life, but very difficult to explain in geological processes alone.”
Additional findings announced today by NASA are related to samples of clay-rich rock found at two sites that contain the iron phosphate mineral vivianite and at two sites that contain the iron phosphate mineral.
Scientists say these minerals may have formed from a reaction between mud and organic matter. The distribution of minerals across rocks appears to support this hypothesis.
“It suggests that not only minerals, but the methods placed in these structures have been formed through redox cycling. [in which bacteria are key players on Earth] “Of the iron and sulfur, “On Earth, these things can sometimes form in sediments where microorganisms feed on organic matter and “breathe” rust and sulfate. Their presence on Mars raises questions: could a similar process occur there? ”
Nevertheless, definitive arbitration for the biological or non-biological processes that created the pattern can only be made in labs on Earth. Also, whether to acquire valuable cargo of patience for its analysis remains a controversial political question.
The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA initially proposed the use of NASA’s sample recovery landers (small rocket-carrying spacecraft) to collect rover samples by 2033 as part of the MARS sample return mission. The rocket then uses the sample to return to orbit.
However, the mission, which is now significantly beyond the budget, faces cancellations to NASA from the Trump administration’s planned budget cuts. Meanwhile, China has revealed its own plan for the Mars Sample Return Mission, which can be launched by 2028.
When forced on by a reporter during the post-announcement Q&A session, Duffy was unable to see if or when a sample return mission would occur, but he remained optimistic.
“The president loves space. He asked me about it,” Duffy said. “I’ll give him the latest news, how it’s going, what we’re doing. He won’t brush me off.”
“If there’s a problem with resources, I’m sure he’ll go to him and he’ll support us,” he added.
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