BTN News: NASA scientists have found interesting signs in a rock on Mars. These signs might show that life existed on Mars billions of years ago. The rock, called Chevaya Falls, is in Jezero Crater. This crater used to be a lake with a river flowing into it and has many organic compounds.
The rock has chemical marks and structures that might have been made by life billions of years ago. At that time, water flowed in the area now explored by the Perseverance rover. But NASA says other reasons for these features are also being studied. More research is needed to see if ancient life is a valid reason for these signs.
The Rock Shows Interesting Chemical Marks That Might Indicate Life
Instruments on the Perseverance rover studied the “leopard spots” on the rock. These spots might be signs of ancient life. The rock is about one meter long and a bit over half a meter wide. It has organic compounds, which are basic building blocks of life. But NASA warns that these compounds can also form through non-biological processes. Katie Stack Morgan, a scientist for the Perseverance project, said, “We cannot say this is a sign of life, but it is the most interesting sample we have found so far.”
Scientists Find This Rock Complex and Important
Ken Farley, a scientist at Caltech working on the Perseverance project, said Chevaya Falls is the most confusing and important rock the rover has studied since 2021. Farley said the rock has clear signs of organic material and chemical reactions that microbial life could use for energy. There is also strong proof that water once flowed through the rock. But the exact way the rock formed is still not known. Rocks nearby might have heated it, causing these features.
Farley presented these findings at the 10th International Mars Conference in Pasadena, California. This discovery makes people talk again about the need to bring these samples to Earth for detailed study, even though it costs a lot. Farley said that while Perseverance has used lasers, X-rays, and many photos to study the rock, only advanced labs on Earth can fully understand what happened in Jezero Crater’s ancient valley billions of years ago.
Scientists React to This New Discovery
David Flannery, an astrobiologist at Queensland University of Technology, Australia, was surprised by the findings. He said that on Earth, similar features in rocks are often linked to fossilized microbial life. Astrobiologist Ester Lázaro from the Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA) said it is important to bring the samples to Earth for a full study. She noted the interesting signs, such as water flow, organic compounds, and chemical reactions. But she also warned that organic compounds are not always made by life.
Lázaro compared this discovery to a 1996 announcement of possible life signs in a Martian meteorite, presented by Bill Clinton at the White House. Despite having similar signs, other processes could have caused those results in the rock.
Past Discoveries of Possible Life and Future Plans
This is not the first time signs of life have been found on Mars. In 2014, the Curiosity rover found a mysterious methane source, a gas on Earth usually made by living things. In 2022, Curiosity found rock samples with light carbon isotopes, a sign on Earth that would strongly indicate microbial life. More recently, Perseverance found signs of organic compounds. But NASA says current robots can only find signs of past life. To discover any active life, scientists need to drill below the Martian surface.
The discovery at Chevaya Falls brings hope and curiosity about Mars’ ancient past and the chance of past life. As scientists keep studying these findings, bringing Martian samples to Earth becomes more important. The search to understand Mars’ past and the possible ancient life keeps driving these important missions.
