NASA used some surprising words to describe their new discovery on Mars: “fascinating”, “fascinating”, “convincing” and “Confusing.”
NASA’s Perseverance rover recently drilled into Martian rock, where the six-wheeled robot detected organic molecules (also known as the “building blocks of life” as we know it). The robot collected the sample, and scientists discovered a tell-tale ingredient inside that suggested Potential Ancient microbial life. “The rock exhibits chemical signatures and structures that may have formed from life billions of years ago, when running water was available in the areas explored by the rover,” NASA said in a statement. But crucially, More research over many years is needed to confirm this possibility.
In fact, some areas on Mars were once filled with water, with roaring rivers and vast lakes. These aquatic environments may have laid the foundation for the evolution of primitive life.
NASA scientists view the first Voyager images. What he saw made him shudder.
In the image below, you can see the novel Martian structures NASA scientists observed in this rock. They are white spots surrounded by a black halo and are called “leopard spots”.
“These spots are a surprise,” David Flannery, an astrobiologist at Queensland University of Technology and a member of Perseverance’s science team, said in a statement. “On Earth, these types of spots in rocks are rare. Characteristics are often associated with the fossil record of microbes living underground.”
This is a very interesting connection. The spots are formed by chemical reactions in the Earth that release iron and phosphate, an important nutrient, and provide energy for microorganisms.
Mix and match speed of light
‘Leopard’ spots discovered in new Martian rock sample.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
NASA planetary scientists are certainly excited.
NASA’s Laurie Leshin posted online: “As a rock geek/scientist and director of @NASAJPL, this is the kind of discovery you hope for, puzzling observations that will make your heart race.”
“This is not only interesting, but really exciting! We have to bring the samples to Earth and analyze them in our best laboratories!” Rosalie, senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Lopez wrote.
But, of course, the space agency is also tempering expectations until more information is known. Abiotic processes may have caused leopard spots, such as mineral deposits from past water flows. In the announcement, the agency provided the helpful chart below showing confidence of life detection (CoLD). Through this test, NASA ranked first.
Image credit: NASA/Aaron Gronstall
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And, crucially, to scale up, the sample (from a rock called Cheyava Falls) must be carefully analyzed in a laboratory on Earth, using far more instruments than a distant car-sized rover could. Instruments that can be carried. This could prove whether abiotic factors actually formed the structure, confirm the existence of past life, rule out other hypotheses, and more. However, NASA’s Mars sample return mission is in jeopardy. The cost is approximately $11 billion, a price the space agency cannot afford. The agency is now seeking an economically viable plan for the complex effort that would retrieve the samples and transport them back to Earth.
Until then, these eye-catching structures will remain largely unchanged.
“We shined lasers and X-rays on the rock and took images of it day and night from almost every angle imaginable,” said Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley. Provided. To fully understand what happened in the Martian river valleys of Jezero Crater billions of years ago, we hope to bring Cheawa Falls samples back to Earth so they can be used with powerful instruments in the laboratory.
