NASA Mars rover Perseverance finds best potential evidence yet of ancient life
19 hours ago
- #NASA
- #Astrobiology
- #Mars
- NASA's Perseverance rover found rocks in a dry river channel that may contain signs of ancient microscopic life.
- The compounds discovered are the most compelling evidence yet of potential ancient life on Mars.
- The rover cannot directly detect life but collects samples from areas likely to have hosted life billions of years ago.
- Scientists caution that non-biological processes could also explain the findings.
- The sample, collected from Neretva Vallis, contains organic carbon and chemical compounds linked to microbial activity on Earth.
- NASA plans to return the samples to Earth, but the mission faces delays and budget constraints.
- Perseverance has gathered 30 samples so far, with 10 stored as backups on Mars.
- The findings were published in the journal Nature.