Current:Home > InvestThis Mars rock could show evidence of life. Here's what Perseverance rover found. -Zenith Money Vision
This Mars rock could show evidence of life. Here's what Perseverance rover found.
View
Date:2025-04-14 07:26:38
The Perseverance rover found a rock on Mars that scientists think could show evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet.
The rock – nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" after a waterfall in the Grand Canyon – has chemical markings that could be the trace of life forms that existed when water ran freely through the area long ago, according to a news release from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"More than any of the other rocks that we have collected so far on Perseverance, this is a rock that may carry information on one of the key goals of the whole Perseverance mission," Ken Farley, a Perseverance project scientist with the California Institute of Technology, told USA TODAY. "That is – was there ever life on Mars in the very distant past?"
The first unique markings that scientists noticed on the rock's surface were a network of distinctive white veins. When Perseverance peered closer, it also found dozens of tiny, bright spots ringed with black.
The spots – found on rocks on the Earth – are particularly exciting to scientists because they show evidence of chemical reactions that release iron and phosphate, which can provide an energy source for microbes, a tiny form of life.
“On Earth, these types of features in rocks are often associated with fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface," David Flannery, a Perseverance scientist from Queensland University of Technology, said in the news release.
More:NASA releases eye-popping, never-before-seen images of nebulae, galaxies in space
Perseverance investigates Martian river channel for signs of life
Perseverance found the rock, which measures more than 3 feet by 2 feet, on Sunday as it explored the Neretva Vallis, a quarter-mile-wide valley carved out by rushing water billions of years ago. Scientists have directed the rover to explore rocks that were shaped or changed by running water in the hopes of finding evidence of microbial life.
A scan of the rock using a special instrument on Perseverance's arm called SHERLOC picked up on organic matter. The rover then used another instrument, a "precision X-ray device powered by artificial intelligence," to examine the black rings on the rock.
Still, non-biological processes could also have formed the rock's unique features. Scientists want to bring the rock back to Earth so it can be studied in more detail to puzzle out how it formed.
Although the rock doesn't prove the past existence of life on Mars, it's exactly the kind of sample that the team was hoping to take home for further analysis.
"It's the kind of target that, if we're back in the laboratory, we could actually sort out a lot of these details and make progress on understanding what's going on," Farley said.
Although it's not clear exactly how the team will get the samples back to Earth, NASA has a plan in the works, Farley said. Perseverance "very likely will hand them off to a future mission that brings a rocket to the surface of Mars," he said.
Perseverance touched down on the Red Planet in February of 2021 after a journey through space of more than 200 days and 300 million miles. The rover's mission is to seek out signs of ancient life by examining rock and soil samples – Cheyava Falls was the 22nd rock sample it collected, according to NASA.
Scientists have come across what they thought was possible organic matter in the same area of Mars before, but the tools Perseverance used to uncover it this time are more accurate, Farley said.
"We're much more confident that this is organic matter than in the previous detection," he said.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- James Van Der Beek, Jenna Fischer and the rise of young people getting cancer
- Cooper Flagg stats: How did Duke freshman phenom do in his college basketball debut?
- First-term Democrat tries to hold on in Washington state district won by Trump in 2020
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Prince's Sister Tyka Nelson Dead at 64
- What It's Really Like Growing Up As First Kid in the White House
- Jaw-Dropping Amazon Fashion Deals: 3 Long-Sleeve Shirts for $19, Plus Up to 69% Off Fall Styles
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Rudy Giuliani ordered to appear in court after missing deadline to turn over assets
Ranking
- 'Most Whopper
- Republicans try to hold onto all of Iowa’s 4 congressional districts
- GOP Gov. Jim Justice battles Democrat Glenn Elliott for US Senate seat from West Virginia
- CFP bracket prediction: LSU rejoins the field, as Clemson falls out and Oregon holds No. 1
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Beyoncé Channels Pamela Anderson in Surprise Music Video for Bodyguard
- Queen Camilla suffering from chest infection, forced to call off engagements, palace says
- Patrick Mahomes survives injury scare in Chiefs' overtime win vs. Buccaneers
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
Investigation into Ford engine failures ends after more than 2 years; warranties extended
Sign of the times in front yard political wars: A campaign to make America laugh again
Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker is challenged by Democrat Ty Pinkins
Average rate on 30
Arizona voters to decide on expanding abortion access months after facing a potential near-total ban
In Maryland, competitive US House race focuses on abortion, economy and immigration
Which is the biggest dinner-table conversation killer: the election, or money?