"That's part of the reason why we can't go so far as to say, 'A-ha, this is proof positive of life,' lead researcher Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University told The Associated Press. "All we can say is one of the possible explanations is microbial life, but there could be other ways to make this set of features that we see.""
"Calling it an "exciting discovery," a pair of scientists who were not involved in the study - SETI Institute's Janice Bishop and the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Mario Parente - were quick to point out that non-biological processes could be responsible."
"Roaming Mars since 2021, the rover cannot directly detect life. Instead, it carries a drill to penetrate rocks and tubes to hold the samples gathered from places judged most suitable for hosting life billions of years ago. The samples are awaiting retrieval to Earth - an ambitious plan that's on hold as NASA seeks cheaper, quicker options."
Perseverance found rocks in a dried river channel that may preserve signs of ancient microscopic life. The rover collected a sample from clay-rich mudstones in Neretva Vallis that once fed Jezero Crater. Perseverance cannot itself detect life and relies on drilled rock samples stored for eventual return to Earth, where detailed laboratory analyses could confirm biosignatures. The sample-return plan is delayed as NASA seeks less costly, faster approaches. Scientists caution that nonbiological processes could produce similar features, so the microbial explanation remains one possibility rather than proof. The discovery is considered the most compelling candidate so far.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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