Perseverance rover detects possible signatures of life on Mars

The Perseverance Rover A major step has been taken in the search for traces of ancient life on Mars with the collection of samples.Very expensiveSo far, NASA announced Thursday, Sept. 15, that it has only possible signatures of life that need to be confirmed once on Earth. It’s still not proof that life once existed on the Red Planet, but it’s the best chance to one day definitively detect ancient microbial life.

A possible biosignature may have been created by the presence of a vowel, but also by the absence of a vowel. For this biosignature to be considered conclusive, these samples must be analyzed by powerful laboratory instruments on Earth. NASA plans to bring them back by 2033 with another mission.I think it’s safe to say that the rock specimens collected so far are so valuable that they already exist.“, David Schuster, who works on these models, announced during a press conference.

“Basic Elements of Life”

Two cores were drilled into the rock.Wildcat Mound“, about one meter high and located in a delta formed at the junction of a river and an ancient lake about 3.5 billion years ago. This rock is particularly interesting because it is a sedimentary rock that appears to have formed when the water in the lake evaporated. “Wildcat Mound“thus”More power to protect biosignaturesaid David Shuster of the University of California, Berkeley.

The rock, which was analyzed separately by an instrument at the end of Perseverance’s robotic arm, revealed the presence of organic compounds — the largest amount detected since the mission began a year and a half ago. These compounds – composed mainly of carbon, and may also contain hydrogen – “They are the basic elements of life“said Ken Farley, who is in charge of the science part of the mission.

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They were detected in small quantities by the rover during previous analyzes of Jezero’s crater, which contains the lake, but “As we progress through the delta, the “The clues are getting stronger,” said Sunanda Sharma, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “I personally find these results very moving because it seems we are in the right place, with the right tools, at a pivotal moment.“, she said. “We don’t yet know the significance of these discoveries, but these rocks are what we came for.Ken Farley concluded.

Also see – “It’s unbelievable!”: NASA confirms collection of rock samples from Mars through diligence