Rover perseverance is exploring an ancient river delta on Mars, and organic molecules from the region could be new evidence that life once existed on the red planet. In early July, the rover took four samples from this delta, which is inside the Jezero crater, and they could be excellent evidence that Mars once had terrestrial living organisms that lived in its crust.

Ken Farley, a project scientist, says these rocks contain the highest concentration of organic matter ever found during the mission. SHERLOCK device (Habitable Environment Scanning with Raman and Luminescence for Organic and Chemical Substances) from Perseverance examined and found that the collected rock is full of organics associated with sulfur-bearing minerals. This suggests that both sulfates and organic matter were deposited when the lake evaporated, and on Earth, this also means that signs of life may have survived. The material was obtained by drilling the soil of Mars.

While it’s interesting, we can’t confirm anything.

Despite the fact that the new information has increased the interest of scientists in the alleged existence of life on Mars, the compounds found cannot be considered biosignatures (deposit signs of life). As Farley and Sunanda Sharma of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory explain, organic compounds can be formed and stored through unique geological processes. In addition, data from perseverance don’t say enough about the origin of these compounds to make an official connection.

The Perseverance rover currently carries 43 Martian sample tubes, 15 of which have already been sealed for future shipment. Of this total, 12 tubes contain drilled rock cores, one is an atmospheric sample and two are “witness tubes”. If all goes according to plan, these compounds will be sent to our planet in 2033 as part of a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency.

Perseverance rover finds ‘green sand’ on Mars
The same material found on the Red Planet is present on the beaches of Hawaii.

By using: NASA

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