Yesterday, NASA reported that a rock spotted on Mars by its Perseverance rover showed promising signs of potential ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.
Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), stated on social media platform X that the rock displays evidence of water, organic matter, and chemical reactions that could serve as an energy source. She added that this discovery is the type that you wish for – where incredible observations quicken your heart rate slightly.
Everyone, take a moment to breathe. Many uncertainties may remain unanswered for a long time or indefinitely. There is a lengthy background of Martian rocks causing excitement among some of the life on Earth.
Maybe the most well-known, or notorious, Martian rock is Allan Hills 84001, a meteorite found in Antarctica. In a Science paper from 1996, researchers proposed that it contained nanofossils of bacteria. The news traveled widely and resulted in a speech of congratulations from then-President Bill Clinton. The discussion persists, however, the majority of researchers nowadays think that the fossil-like characteristics appeared without life. Earlier Mars rovers, like Curiosity, have also generated excitement due to discovering rocks with various organic molecules in Gale crater during its extended mission.
Perseverance does not have a laboratory on board. The purpose of the drill is to extract rocks and place them in capsules for potential return to Earth for examination, as part of the delayed Mars Sample Return mission overseen by JPL. Therefore, its tools are not as extensive as those on Curiosity. However, the data they supplied was sufficient to generate excitement about the Cheyava Falls rock recently drilled from a location where scientists think a river used to empty into the Jezero crater, depositing sediment and forming a delta that is now preserved as a fossil.
White veins of calcium sulfate run through the rock, forming from minerals that settle out of water. Scans performed by a rover tool also show that the rock has organic compounds. These carbon-containing compounds are necessary components for life, but they can also be created through non-living processes. Possibly the most fascinating aspect was the mineral “leopard spots” found in the rock, small whitish patches surrounded by black material and believed to have iron and phosphate. On our planet, this spotting occurs when organic compounds interact with hematite, also known as rusted iron. Microbial life can be supported by these reactions.
That is just one possible interpretation. There may be other individuals present. For instance, the rock includes olivine crystals too—minerals created in volcanic eruptions that may suggest the rock was formed at extreme temperatures unsuitable for any form of life. Perseverance cannot express anything beyond that.
This is the twenty-second rock core it has obtained, and astrobiologists find many of them fascinating. Certain cores include mudstones or carbonate deposits which could potentially support microbial life as they would on Earth. It is uncertain if these samples will be sent back to Earth for further analysis soon. Current Mars Sample Return plans, originally estimated at $11 billion, are being reevaluated by NASA. The agency is now seeking new proposals from external organizations and its own research facilities, including JPL, the creator of the initial strategy. Until that time, the program will continue to operate with a minimal budget.
While the scientific value of the new sample is undeniable, the controversial statement from JPL to secure Mars Sample Return funding has caused some skepticism. According to Marc Fries, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and member of the Perseverance team, he noted on X, “A conflict of interest warning sticker should be included.”
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