US EditionNASA Says Perseverance's 'Sapphire Canyon' Sample Holds Potential Biosignature
- On July 21, 2024, NASA's Perseverance rover drilled into Cheyava Falls in Jezero Crater, Mars, and collected its 25th sample named Sapphire Canyon.
- This event followed Perseverance's exploration of Jezero Crater since February 2021, aiming to find potential signs of ancient life in clay-rich, mudstone rocks of Neretva Vallis.
- Researchers identified iron phosphate and sulfide nodules linked with organic carbon, suggesting complex low-temperature redox reactions that might indicate biological processes or non-biological chemistry.
- Lead researcher Joel Hurowitz said, "We can't go so far as to say, 'A-ha, this is proof positive of life,'" while Janice Bishop and Mario Parente highlighted the need to rule out non-biological explanations.
- NASA's Mars Sample Return program plans to retrieve these samples for Earth-based lab analysis, but budget and priorities put the mission on hold, delaying definitive life confirmation.
251 Articles
251 Articles
Last year, NASA's rover discovered a rock with "surprising" black and white spots. Now, scientists have analyzed the rock and say it is one of the strongest indications yet that there was life on the red neighboring planet.
NASA explorer Perseverance discovered rocks that may contain potential signs of ancient life on Mars.
'Leopard spots' found on rock on Mars are clearest sign life once existed on red planet, NASA says
The space agency said analysis of the unusual markings by the Perseverance rover has revealed they contain minerals that on Earth can be a byproduct of microbes. Scientists can't rule out that the spots were caused by natural geological processes.
NASA highlights potential evidence of past life in Martian rock
Scientists have found potential evidence of past life on Mars in a rock sample collected by a NASA rover, even as a proposed budget cancels plans to return those samples. The post NASA highlights potential evidence of past life in Martian rock appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA's Perseverance rover has found minerals that could indicate the former existence of life on Mars.
Mars rock discovery makes strongest case for past life, scientists reveal
A Mars rock sample collected last summer shows chemical fingerprints that might be traces of past microbe activity, though non-biological explanations are still possible, according to NASA.The Perseverance rover found the rock in July 2024. The drilled sample, nicknamed Sapphire Canyon, is now the strongest clue scientists have that life once existed on ancient Mars, according to the U.S. space agency. NASA held a news conference Wednesday to an…
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