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In June 2023, administrators of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, together with colleagues from the Australian Space Agency, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Commonwealth of Nations Scientific and
In June 2023, administrators of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, together with colleagues from the Australian Space Agency, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Commonwealth of Nations Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), released some of the earliest convincing evidence for the existence of Mars. met on a field trip to visit some of them. life on earth. .
“This science expedition is a great opportunity for NASA to work with our international partners to study ancient Earth and Mars that may have a similar history,” said Eric Janson, director of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. . “The more we learn about the evolution of our planet, the more we can apply this knowledge to the characterization of the Red Planet.”
The Pilbara, in the outback of Western Australia, is one of the few places in the world that has preserved the ancient geological record of our ancient planet. As the international community continues to work together to explore Mars and prepare samples for delivery to Earth, these teams are exploring what our own backyards can teach us about finding life elsewhere.
Members of NASA’s Mars Exploration Programme, the European Space Agency, the Australian Space Agency and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization are in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to investigate ‘stromatolites’, the oldest confirmed fossil life form on Earth. They discuss the importance of the geological context in the selection of sample sites and ensure the integrity of the sample’s biological resource, as well as evaluate plans for future missions to deliver samples from Mars to Earth. Image credit: NASA/Mike Toillion
“What we see in Western Australia is known as stromatolite,” said program scientist Mitch Schulte of the Mars Perseverance Rover at NASA Headquarters. “These are fossils formed by the accumulation of microorganisms that lived about 3.5 billion years ago and whose existence was recorded and preserved in the rock record during that period.”
Because of geological processes that are constantly reshaping and reworking the Earth’s surface, it is extremely difficult for stromatolites or other fossils to remain on Earth for long periods of time, so only a fraction of past life remains in the geological record. The rock records in the Pilbara region have remained intact for billions of years, resulting in geological outcrops of the same age as we see on most of the Martian surface. This makes the region a critical testing ground for scientists and engineers to hone their skills to detect signs of life in ancient environments.
3.35 Ga egg carton stromatolites of the Strelley Pool Formation in Trendall, Western Australia. Image credit: NASA/Mike Toillion
An international delegation organized a week-long expedition to the Pilbara to examine the challenges of finding fossils and how our missions have used methods, including detailed contextual measurements, to overcome these challenges. Discussions centered on how difficult it is to find and confirm traces of past life in ancient rocks, even on a planet like Earth where life is known to have originated.
“To prove that a trait is biogenic, you need to be able to prove not only that life can produce it, but also that a particular version of the trait was not created by something else.” says Lindsay Hayes, Mars Sample Return Officer and Astrobiology Program Scientist, deputy chief scientist at NASA Headquarters. “To understand what you’re looking at, you have to understand what else is going on in the historical record of rock sections.”
The main theme of the field workshop was the importance of the geological context in choosing sampling sites and ultimately confirming the integrity of a sample’s biological resource. The Pilbara is the perfect class for teams that have resisted time and scientific rigor and study stromatolites on Mars who understand what they’re looking for. The group explored how the environment in which these ancient signs of life might be found could be favorable or unfavorable for the formation of biology.
Since February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been traversing Jesero Crater, which contains an ancient river delta, preserving specimens of rocks and regoliths that may contain signs of ancient microbial life from the same period (3 to 3.5 billion years old). The exercises on this expedition were a replica of what Perseverance did from afar, millions of miles away: spotting samples in the field and examining the area around them.
As we look to the next phase of the rover’s sampling campaign, the international community can use what we have learned about the importance of the environmental context on Earth to ensure that the most scientifically relevant samples are collected with appropriate context. It will shed light on our biggest scientific questions about Mars after their arrival on Earth.
This astrobiology expedition sets the stage for continued research and collaboration as NASA’s Perseverance rover, ESA’s ExoMars program, and both agencies’ joint Mars Sample Return missions work together to answer humanity’s eternal question: Are we alone? Source
Source: Port Altele
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