NASA says this could be the clearest sign of life on Mars yet!
A sample collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in an ancient riverbed may preserve evidence of microbial life from 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists call this kind of clue a potential biosignature—a feature that might have a biological origin, but still needs more data before we can say for sure. “This is the closest we’ve ever come to discovering ancient life on Mars,” said NASA.
It’s not proof, non-biological chemistry can sometimes mimic these signals, but it is the strongest lead yet: minerals, textures, and organics all lining up in the exact setting microbes love on Earth.
What’s next? Perseverance cored a sample. The gold standard is to bring it to Earth’s labs, but the Mars Sample Return timeline is being reworked and could push into the 2040s. In the meantime, expect more in-situ tests, more drill cores, and a lot of scientific scrutiny before anyone claims a definitive biosignature! - Rob
V101 SPACE
NASA says this could be the clearest sign of life on Mars yet!
A sample collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in an ancient riverbed may preserve evidence of microbial life from 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists call this kind of clue a potential biosignature—a feature that might have a biological origin, but still needs more data before we can say for sure. “This is the closest we’ve ever come to discovering ancient life on Mars,” said NASA.
It’s not proof, non-biological chemistry can sometimes mimic these signals, but it is the strongest lead yet: minerals, textures, and organics all lining up in the exact setting microbes love on Earth.
What’s next?
Perseverance cored a sample. The gold standard is to bring it to Earth’s labs, but the Mars Sample Return timeline is being reworked and could push into the 2040s. In the meantime, expect more in-situ tests, more drill cores, and a lot of scientific scrutiny before anyone claims a definitive biosignature! - Rob
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 570