"NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life, scientists reported Wednesday. They stressed that in-depth analysis is needed of the sample gathered there by Perseverance ideally in labs on Earth before reaching any conclusions. 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."
"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. 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."
Perseverance uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life. Scientists emphasized that in-depth analysis of the sample is needed, ideally in Earth laboratories, before any conclusions. The rover cannot directly detect life but drills into rocks and stores samples in sealed tubes from sites judged most suitable for hosting life billions of years ago. Samples are awaiting retrieval to Earth while the sample-return plan is on hold as NASA seeks cheaper, quicker options. Lead researcher Joel Hurowitz said microbial life is one possible explanation, but non-biological processes could also produce the observed features. The sample was collected from reddish, clay-rich mudstones in Neretva Vallis near Jezero Crater.
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