NASA's Perseverance Mission
The Perseverance rover was first landed on Mars over three years ago aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle.
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Its main mission is to explore the enormous Jezero Crater, which researchers believe may have once harbored life in the distant past. As the rover, nicknamed Percy, scours the region in great detail, it constantly searches for any minor signs of life.
Alien Life on the Red Planet
Percy made several significant discoveries during its time on Mars and even stumbled upon what appears to be the remains of an ancient lake. Located at Wildcat Ridge, scientists believe this region may have once harbored microbial life.
Source: Wikimedia
More recently, NASA announced that the Perseverance rover had stumbled upon a small rock that could provide them with evidence that alien life was once present on the Red Planet.
Bringing Home Evidence of Life on Mars
When NASA refers to alien life, it typically refers to microbial life, which can be defined as microscopic organisms that once thrived on the planet. Such a discovery could prove that Mars once harbored biological life.
Source: Wikimedia
The rover stumbled upon a rock with unique attributes often ascribed to microbial activity. However, to investigate this, researchers will need to bring the rock back to Earth.
The Discovery NASA Needed
In a statement released to Business Insider, Katie Stack Morgan, a lead scientist on the Perseverance mission, expressed her excitement about the find, which she suggested could finally provide researchers with evidence that biological life once existed on Mars.
Source: Wikimedia
“This is exactly the kind of sample that we wanted to find,” she added.
Features of the Rock That Point Towards Alien Life
Scientists have dubbed the unique rock and indented three key features that could suggest the rock once hosted microbial life.
Source: Wikimedia
White veins of calcium sulfate have been identified on the surface of the rock, suggesting that water once ran through it. As water is an integral part of life as we know it, proving this would be considered a groundbreaking achievement.
The Building Blocks of Life
Secondly, minor testing conducted by the Perseverance rover suggests the rock contains various organic compounds, which are essentially the carbon-based building blocks of all life in the universe.
Source: Wikimedia
Lastly, researchers also noticed small “leopard spots” that point toward chemical reactions in the distant past. This aspect is heavily associated with microbial life on our own planet.
Potential Biosignatures on Mars
Scientists did admit that several non-biological processes could be behind the leopard spots and organic materials. This is why it’s vital that the rock is brought to Earth for an in-depth analysis.
Source: Wikimedia
“We’re not saying there’s life on Mars, but we’re seeing something that is compelling as a potential biosignature,” Stack Morgan said. “This is a very significant discovery.”
A System Dedicated to Assessing the Credibility of Life on Mars
While it certainly isn’t evidence of Martians inhabiting the planet in the distant past, it is “step one” on the seven-step “confidence of life detection” scale, which could lead to such a discovery in the future.
Source: Wikimedia
Also known as the CoLD scale, this system was designed by researchers to determine the steps required to confirm the existence of microbial life on Mars.
Climbing the CoLD Ladder
Items with biosignatures can climb a convenience ladder divided into seven sections. Step one is a possible detection, which the Cheyava Falls rock currently sits at. If the leopard spots are a product of biological intervention, they may move up to steps two or three.
Source: NASA
“We’ve taken us up to the start of that scale, and I think that’s what the rover was sent to Mars to do,” Stack Morgan said.
NASA Mission Delays
To properly access the rock, it must be returned to Earth. However, while the samples were initially expected to arrive by 2031, this date has been pushed back following budget cuts. Recent estimates suggest it could be as late as 2040 before rocks like Cheyava Falls arrive in the hands of scientists.
Source: Wikimedia
“We’re hoping that our most recent sample can play into the conversation about whether this effort is worth it,” Stack Morgan said. “And we believe that it is.”
Getting the Samples Home to Earth
The Cheyava Falls rock could prove to be one of Percy’s greatest discoveries. But recent budget cuts and mission delays mean it might not be analyzed on Earth for at least another decade, if ever.
Source: Wikimedia
“This rock is also one of the most complex rocks we’ve seen on the surface of Mars. There is a lot going on in this rock,” Stack Morgan said, alleging NASA must do whatever is necessary to make the Mars Sample Return Project a success.