Tech Desk 
Jul 28, 2024
The Perseverance rover of NASA has announced a discovery about Mars, showing proof of ancient microbial life on the red planet. This could be a breakthrough with important implications for the search for life beyond Earth.
The Perseverance rover has been roaming the Martian surface since February 2021, looking for signs of past or present life. It has just come across a rock that holds some very compelling features, suggesting that microbial life may have lived on Mars billions of years ago.
The rock has white calcium sulfate veins, a reddish middle area, and small off-white splotches.
Results from the rover's SHERLOC instrument detected chemical signatures and structures that could point toward ancient microbial life.
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Adding to the excitement was the detection of the presence of organic molecules, which are the very building blocks of life, and iron phosphate molecules, which are associated on Earth with ancient microbial life. Results show that the Martian environment could have supported life in the past.
The result, if confirmed, could have a huge bearing on the search for life beyond Earth. Such a finding would represent one of the most important and startling breakthroughs in the field of astrobiology—the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
It was a study that also cast a current spotlight on the need for further research, with continued exploration of the Martian environment holding basic but significant implications.
Further tests back on Earth are needed to confirm whether the rock does harbour evidence of microbial life. NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is designed to retrieve samples like "Cheyava Falls" for close study on Earth.
While the mission has hit some rocks, NASA is actively considering how to speed up the return of samples from Mars.
