NASA’s Perseverance rover finds its first possible hint of ancient life on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover has bagged its first hint of ancient microbes connected Mars.

“We’re not capable to opportunity that this is simply a motion of life,” says Perseverance lawman task intelligence Katie Stack Morgan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab successful Pasadena, Calif.  “But this is nan astir compelling sample we’ve recovered yet.”

The rover drilled up nan sample connected July 21 from a reddish rock, dubbed Cheyava Falls aft a characteristic astatine nan Grand Canyon. It is nan first portion of Mars that Perseverance has examined that contains integrated molecules, nan building blocks of life, task intelligence Ken Farley of Caltech reported July 25 astatine nan 10th International Conference connected Mars successful Pasadena.

This isn’t nan first motion of organics connected Mars — nan Curiosity rover detected integrated molecules successful a region called Gale Crater successful 2014 (SN: 12/16/14). But scientists person struggled to place organics since Perseverance landed successful an ancient dried-up reservoir called Jezero Crater successful 2021, says Stack Morgan (SN: 2/17/21).

Adding to nan excitement, nan reddish stone is speckled pinch small achromatic spots pinch achromatic rims. “They look for illustration a tricolored leopard spot,” Stack Morgan says.

Perseverance examined nan spots pinch instruments that tin place their chemic contents and recovered that nan rims incorporate robust phosphate molecules. On Earth, rings pinch akin texture and chemistry are associated pinch ancient microbial life. The chemic reactions that create nan rings tin beryllium an power root for microbes.

“They don’t require life, of course, and that’s an important caveat,” Stack Morgan says. “But based connected our acquisition pinch akin things connected Earth, location is simply a anticipation that life could person been involved, and these could person a biologic origin.”

NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance (partially seen successful nan foreground) has been exploring an ancient stream delta that erstwhile flowed into Jezero Crater, wherever it discovered a stone that has NASA buzzing. The stone lies successful nan area somewhat correct of halfway successful this image, astir 110 meters from nan rover.MSSS/ASU/JPL-Caltech/NASA

The stone has different confusing features that muddy nan image of really it formed, Stack Morgan says. It is changeable done pinch achromatic veins of calcium sulfate. These veins are filled pinch millimeter-sized crystals of olivine, a mineral that forms from magma. The inclusion of some nan spots and these volcanic features successful nan aforesaid stone is “a small spot mysterious,” Stack Morgan says, arsenic they constituent to different origins. Figuring retired really nan stone formed could thief show really apt it is to person had nan correct conditions and temperatures to big biology.

Planetary intelligence Paul Byrne thinks we should beryllium circumspect astir nan finding.

“Could this genuinely beryllium a biosignature? Yes. And if it is, past it really is nan benignant of society-altering find that nan find of genuinely extraterrestrial life would be,” says Byrne, of Washington University successful St. Louis. But it’s besides imaginable that nan spots came from thing different than life, “in which lawsuit each this is is an absorbing illustration of water-rock chemistry.”

The only measurement to find retired for judge is to bring nan stone home. A large portion of Perseverance’s ngo is to cod samples from absorbing rocks for a early spacecraft to return to Earth, wherever they tin beryllium studied successful much blase laboratories than a rover tin transportation connected its back. Perseverance has thrown everything it has astatine this stone already, Stack Morgan says.

But funding uncertainty has precocious put nan program, known arsenic Mars Sample Return, connected clasp (SN: 5/8/24).

“With this sample, nan rationale for MSR is strengthened moreover more, and should I dream motivate NASA to perpetrate to pulling disconnected this task sooner alternatively than later,” Byrne says.

Stack Morgan says nan rover squad is carrying connected contempt nan fund uncertainty.

“We person a ngo to transportation out, and a occupation to do: collecting compelling samples,” Stack Morgan says. “It tin only beryllium our dream that nan samples that we cod are compelling capable to warrant nan costs of Mars Sample Return. I deliberation pinch this breathtaking sample, that really hits that home.”