Perseverance has located some tantalizing indications of possible microbial life on Mars — although it's too early for scientists to be sure.
NASA’s Perseverance rover was sent to Mars with one big, ambitious aim: to see if life could ever have thrived on our neighboring planet. Although there’s unlikely to be anything alive on Mars now, the planet was once similar to Earth, with a thicker atmosphere and plentiful water on its surface. And during this time, billions of years ago, microbial life could have survived there.
Recommended Videos Such compounds have been found on Mars before, so what makes this particular rock so exciting is the “leopard spots” that are present in it. These millimeter-sized splotches of lighter material have a black ring around them that contains iron and phosphate, and similar markings in rocks on Earth have been created by past life.
However, just because these marking could have been made by life doesn’t mean that they definitely were. They could also have been created by chemical reactions and the flow of water leaving behind mineral deposits. When assessing evidence of such an important question as the presence of life, scientists work to rule out all other explanations before they make pronouncements. The steps for determining if life existed from a rock record are complex, and the unusual facets of this particular rock made determination harder.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Detective work enables Perseverance Mars rover team to revive SHERLOC instrumentAfter six months of effort, an instrument that helps the Mars rover look for potential signs of ancient microbial life has come back online.
Read more »
Perseverance Mars rover team revives life-hunting instrument after 6 months of effortAndrew is a freelance space journalist with a focus on reporting on China's rapidly growing space sector. He began writing for Space.com in 2019 and writes for SpaceNews, IEEE Spectrum, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, New Scientist and others.
Read more »
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover stumbles upon a dusty little snowman (photo)Meredith is a regional Murrow award-winning Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and science/space correspondent. She most recently was a Freelance Meteorologist for NY 1 in New York City & the 19 First Alert Weather Team in Cleveland.
Read more »
How NASA is using AI on the Perseverance rover to study Mars rocksNASA's Perseverance rover is taking the first steps toward autonomous science investigation on Mars.
Read more »
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars RockThe six-wheeled geologist found a fascinating rock that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago, but further research is
Read more »
* Perseverance Triumphs: How SHERLOC Was Brought Back to Life on MarsScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »