NASA’s Perseverance Rover found claystones covered in markings nicknamed “leopard spots” and “poppy seeds”. (Image source: NASA)
NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently searching for signs of biological life on the surface of Mars. Indeed, discoveries have now been made in the region of an old, dried-up riverbed that meet the criteria for potential biosignatures.
Unusual rocks have been discovered on Mars that could potentially provide evidence of past life on the planet. These are a type of 3.5 billion-year-old clay rock found by NASA’s Perseverance Rover in a dried-up riverbed in a region called Jezero Crater.
The rocks exhibit unusual patterns reminiscent of leopard spots. Researchers believe these spots may have been formed by chemical reactions related to ancient microbial processes on Mars. Nasa has stated that these could be the clearest signs of life ever found. However, another theory speculates that the causes could be natural geological processes. This would have required higher temperatures, and the stones do not appear to have been intensely heated. Professor Sanjeev Gupta, a planetary scientist at Imperial College London, explains:
We’ve not had something like this before, so I think that’s the big deal. We have found features in the rocks that if you saw them on Earth could be explained by biology – by microbial process. So we’re not saying that we found life, but we’re saying that it really gives us something to chase.
Although Mars resembles a cold desert today, there is evidence that it had a much denser atmosphere and large amounts of liquid water on its surface billions of years ago. Oceans and rivers made it a warmer and wetter planet. Dr. Nicola Fox, deputy director of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said of the discovery at a press conference:
It’s like seeing a leftover fossil. Maybe it was a leftover meal, maybe that meal’s been excreted and that’s what we’re seeing here.
Whether this is indeed potential evidence of a biosignature or whether it involves non-biological origins – which researchers consider less likely – remains to be seen. Researchers will only get definitive answers when the rocks are examined on Earth.
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I’m passionate about futuristic scenarios and fictional worlds, which is why I love exploring and writing about topics like gaming, AI and AR. To get a better understanding of these areas, I studied design, digital media and art after completing my apprenticeship as a gold and silversmith. In my spare time, I play music and spend a lot of time in nature with my dogs.
Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 2553 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.