What To Know
- A sample-return mission could pick it up and bring it back to Earth, so the rock can be studied more closely in the lab.
- The only way to be sure is to bring these samples back to a laboratory on Earth.
- To hope to discover whether Chevaya Falls could have sheltered life in the past, everything depends on Mars Sample Return, the ambitious mission to return samples from Mars.
NASA‘s Perseverance rover has discovered a surprising rock on Mars. This “leopard-spotted” formation is suspected of being evidence of past life. But can we be so sure yet?
Is there life on Mars? ? The eternal question is relaunched, as NASA’s Perseverance rover has just made an astonishing discovery about the planet red. The robot found an intriguing rock, announced NASA on July 25, 2024. Its characteristics could ” match the definition of a possible indicator of ancient life “.
Did life exist in the leopard spots of this Martian rock?
Did microbes live in this Martian rock billions of years ago? It’s far too early to tell, according to NASA, which affirms that ” further research is needed ” before drawing such conclusions. This is not so surprising: Perseverance is not capable of finding life on Mars In autonomy, its instruments are not sufficient to confirm such a great discovery. However, this discovery remains promising, because the rover is capable of collect the rock and keep it safe. A sample-return mission could pick it up and bring it back to Earth, so the rock can be studied more closely in the lab. On July 21, Perseverance took its 22nd sample from the rock, named Chevaya Falls. The rock is described by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as having ” leopard spots “. It is these strange structures that are suspected of being ” the best signs of ancient microbial life we have found so far on March “.
The “leopard spots” on the Martian rock discovered. // Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS (cropped photo)
To solve the mystery, the Perseverance rock will have to be brought back to Earth
The scientific community is delighted with the rover’s discovery. Has Perseverance found ancient traces of life on Mars? This rock is in any case the most interesting ever studied: rich in carbonaceous matter, it presents small black halos which on Earth are often associated with the presence of microorganisms. “, writing Doctor of planetology Thomas Appéré on X. But scientists are careful not to overinterpret the discovery. What we are saying is that we have a potential biosignature on Mars “, adds Kathryn Stack Morgan, researcher at JPL, quoted by the New York Times. A biosignature is, always according to NASA a characteristic that proves the existence of past or present life. To be certain that we are indeed dealing with a biosignature, we must be able to absolutely exclude one hypothesis: that the element could have been created without the presence of life. However, this is where scientists are calling for caution regarding Perseverance’s “leopard” rock. Spots like these on Earth can form in the presence of microbial life. But there are other, non-biological ways for them to grow., Paul Byrne points out associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in planetary geology. The only way to be sure is to bring these samples back to a laboratory on Earth.. »
The techniques for identifying a biosignature are too complex to be carried aboard a Mars rover, even one as sophisticated as Perseverance. To hope to discover whether Chevaya Falls could have sheltered life in the past, everything depends on Mars Sample Return, the ambitious mission to return samples from Mars. Until then, Perseverance’s findings will continue to inspire many “maybes”. Explore the red planet with the mission March 2020
