Ancient life on Mars? Rover finds intriguing ‘leopard spots’

• NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered a rock, nicknamed Cheyava Falls, with distinctive “leopard spots” on it. The spots are small, irregular and whitish with black edges. The rock is in an historical Martian riverbed in Jezero crater.
• The rock exhibits chemical signatures and buildings that might have been produced by microbial life billions of years in the past. Moreover the spots, the signatures and buildings embrace natural compounds and mineral veins, indicating previous interplay with water.
• The samples collected by Perseverance spotlight the necessity for the Mars Pattern Return Program. This mission, nonetheless within the planning phases, would return rock samples, together with this one, to Earth for additional evaluation.

Proof of life on Mars?

NASA’s Perseverance rover not too long ago got here throughout a rock that “possesses qualities that match the definition of a attainable indicator of historical life.” Wait, what? The arrowhead-shaped rock, nicknamed Cheyava Falls, is in an historical riverbed the rover has been exploring. The river as soon as fed right into a lake in Jezero crater billions of years in the past. As NASA said on July 25, 2024, the rock accommodates chemical signatures and buildings that might have been made by microscopic life. This consists of intriguing little white spots with black edges that the mission staff calls “leopard spots.” Might they be proof for historical life on Mars?

This isn’t proof of previous life on Mars, not but, anyway. However scientists are excited in regards to the discovery.

An intriguing Mars rock

Perseverance discovered Cheyava Falls alongside the northern fringe of Neretva Vallis, an historical river valley. The river valley measures about 1,300 toes (400 meters) vast. Mission scientists had deliberate the route via Neretva Vallis so the rover may go to essentially the most attention-grabbing places.

Nicola Fox is affiliate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She said:

We now have designed the route for Perseverance to make sure that it goes to areas with the potential for attention-grabbing scientific samples. This journey via the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we discovered one thing we’ve by no means seen earlier than, which can give our scientists a lot to review.

Perseverance used its SHERLOC (Scanning Liveable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemical compounds) instrument to research the rock. The rover additionally collected a pattern from the rock on July 22, 2024, the twenty second one thus far. And, like earlier samples, it’s being saved in a metallic tube for return to Earth at a later date.

Mineral veins, water and organics

Why is that this rock so attention-grabbing? There are a number of causes. First, like many different rocks seen by the rovers, this one is crammed with calcium sulfate mineral veins. That’s proof the rock as soon as interacted with water.

As well as, it additionally accommodates natural compounds. These are carbon-based molecules which can be the constructing block of life on Earth. By themselves, they don’t show the existence of life, since they will additionally type with out life. However the surrounding context and different particulars may be suggestive as as to if life – as in microbes – was concerned or not. That’s why this rock is so particular. It’s suggestive of attainable previous microbial life.

Ken Farley, Perseverance undertaking scientist at Caltech in Pasadena, California, said:

Cheyava Falls is essentially the most puzzling, complicated and probably essential rock but investigated by Perseverance. On the one hand, now we have our first compelling detection of natural materials, distinctive colourful spots indicative of chemical reactions that microbial life may use as an vitality supply, and clear proof that water – vital for all times – as soon as handed via the rock. However, now we have been unable to find out precisely how the rock shaped and to what extent close by rocks might have heated Cheyava Falls and contributed to those options.

Kevin Hand, SHERLOC’s principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, added:

That is the form of key commentary that SHERLOC was constructed for, to hunt natural matter as it’s a vital part of a seek for previous life.

Morgan Cable, a scientist on the Perseverance staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses the brand new findings from Perseverance. Video through NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ YouTube.

Life on Mars? The intriguing leopard spots

Aside from the mineral veins and natural compounds, one thing else caught the eyes of mission scientists: the “leopard spots.” Between the bands of calcium sulfate are reddish areas on the rock, almost certainly hematite. The rover used SHERLOC to take a more in-depth have a look at them and noticed one thing attention-grabbing. It noticed many tiny irregular light-colored spots with black edges, solely about 0.004 inches (1 millimeter) in measurement. They form of regarded just like the spots you see on leopards, therefore the nickname.

Perseverance’s PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) instrument discovered the black edges, or halos, include each iron and phosphate.

So, may the spots be proof for previous life? Possibly. David Flannery is an astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science staff from the Queensland College of Know-how in Australia. He commented on the spots, saying:

These spots are an enormous shock. On Earth, a lot of these options in rocks are sometimes related to the fossilized report of microbes dwelling within the subsurface.

Certainly, on Earth, related spots may be an vitality supply for microbes. Chemical reactions involving hematite can launch iron and phosphate, and likewise flip purple rock to white.

The rover science staff stated the Cheyava Falls rock might initially have been made with natural molecules in it. The mud later hardened into rock. Later, extra water seeped into cracks within the rock, creating mineral deposits. These deposits may have included each the mineral veins and leopard spots.

Different attainable explanations

Mission scientists are nonetheless taking a look at different attainable explanations for the weird spots as nicely. One is that olivine, a mineral that varieties in magma, might have reacted with sulfate at excessive temperatures to create the spots. Perseverance did additionally discover olivine crystals in Cheyava Falls. The scientists stated rocks with olivine most likely first shaped additional alongside the rim of the river valley.

For now, scientists will proceed to review the findings from Perseverance. Any definitive outcomes will doubtless have to attend till the samples the rover has collected may be introduced again to Earth within the Mars Pattern Return Program. Regardless of Perseverance gathering rock samples for return to Earth, the pattern return program remains to be within the planning phases.

Perseverance has finished just about all it could actually do by itself with its onboard lab and devices. As Farley noted:

We now have zapped that rock with lasers and X-rays and imaged it actually day and night time from nearly each angle possible. Scientifically, Perseverance has nothing extra to present. To completely perceive what actually occurred in that Martian river valley at Jezero Crater billions of years in the past, we’d wish to deliver the Cheyava Falls pattern again to Earth, so it may be studied with the highly effective devices obtainable in laboratories.

Backside line: Has NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered traces of historical life on Mars? A rock with puzzling “leopard spots” has scientists intrigued and puzzled.

Via NASA

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