US EditionWait, What? NASA Found Signs of Ancient Alien Life on Mars
Data from five instruments indicate mineral nodules on Mars' Bright Angel outcrop may have formed with microbial involvement, supporting past water presence crucial for life.
- On Thursday, NASA and scientists reported a paper on Perseverance's Bright Angel study, highlighting the sealed Sapphire Canyon core as a key sample from Jezero Crater for potential ancient life.
- Scientists note that Bright Angel mudstones formed from fine sediments deposited in water, indicating a once-wet environment in Jezero Crater's ancient river system.
- Using five primary instruments, the team detected water-bound minerals and organic molecules, while PIXL's chemistry scans revealed chemical differences in leopard-like spots at Beaver Falls and Bright Angel.
- NASA officials caution that funding and timing will dictate next steps, as the Mars sample return campaign faces delays amid the White House budget office's proposed cuts to science funding and Perseverance's operations.
- Finding vivianite and greigite in the Jezero Crater core suggests potential biosignatures, and Earth labs are essential for definitive analysis, according to scientists.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Is This Discovery the Closest We’ve Come to Finding Life On Another Planet?
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered compelling chemical signatures in Jezero Crater’s Bright Angel formation that scientists say could represent potential biosignatures of ancient Martian life. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) how fine-grained mudstones rich in organic carbon, sulfur, and oxidized iron may have provided energy sources for microbes, …
After a year of analysis, scientists have stated that they find no other explanation for these strange stains, said NASA top boss Sean Duffy. “This could be the clearest sign of life we’ve ever found on Mars, which is incredibly exciting,” Duffy said.The sample, called Zafiro Canyon, was collected by the rover in a region carved by the water that flowed to the Jezero crater, more than 3 billion years ago.The rock is dotted with intriguing markin…
Planetologist Agnes Cousin decrypts the resounding discovery of Perseverance, between abiotic chemistry and possible ancient microbial activity.
‘Groundbreaking' NASA Discovery Is ‘Closest We Have Ever Come’ to Finding Life on Mars
Two minerals, known almost exclusively to be linked with microbial metabolism, have been found in a recent drill sample by the Perseverance rover. They sparked a flurry of excitement, and NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy was quick to point out that gold-standard science will need to be performed on what he called “the closest we […] The post ‘Groundbreaking’ NASA Discovery Is ‘Closest We Have Ever Come’ to Finding Life on Mars appeared first…
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