The Mars rover Perseverance has discovered the clearest evidence of life on Mars to date, as announced by the US space agency NASA.
Washington DC – “Is there life on Mars?” asked David Bowie in his 1971 song of the same name. Even after the death of the exceptional artist, scientists around the world continue to question whether there really is life on the red planet. The Mars rover “Perseverance” has now discovered the clearest evidence of life on Mars during its mission, as the US space agency NASA, headquartered in Washington DC, announced in a statement. Had about a year ago A NASA vehicle found signs that could indicate life on Mars.
One Study by US scientists suggests that life on Mars is impossible, the NASA robot “Curiosity” discovered organic molecules in the sand of the red planet a year ago. The new, clearer indications of life on Mars, on the other hand, were discovered by the Mars rover “Perseverance” in layers of rock extracted from the so-called Jezero crater. Around 3.5 billion years ago, this crater was a lake into which, according to NASA, a large river delta flowed at the time. Since the crater has now completely dried up, the rover’s finds were only possible.
NASA: Mars rover discovers layers of rock in dry lake that contain organic material
As early as spring 2021, the Mars rover “Perseverance” began investigating the now dry Jezero crater on the red planet. Scientists had expected to discover sedimentary rock formed when sand and water settled in a watery environment known as the former lake. To their great surprise, however, they discovered through the rover’s images that the bottom of the crater is composed of two different types of rock. One formed from magma deep underground and one formed by volcanic activity on the surface.
The discovery of the igneous rocks on the surface suggests that there must have been volcanic activity on Mars at some point. Rocks collected by the Mars rover from a rocky outcrop NASA has dubbed “Wildcat Ridge” contained organic material. “The rocks found in the river delta of Jezero Crater contain such a high concentration of organic material that we have never seen on this mission,” said Ken Farley, a scientist on the Perseverance project at the California Institute of Technology in California pasadena According to the US space agency, the material consists largely of hydrogen and oxygen.
NASA and ESA want to bring collected clues to Earth for further investigation
The discoveries of the Mars rover “Perseverance” on the red planet are described by NASA as spectacular evidence of life, even if they cannot clearly prove such. “Although the finds do not in themselves mean that there was definitely life on Mars, the samples found have strong parallels to samples that we know from Earth,” explained Ken Farley. That the rock strata are similar to those known to preserve fossils on Earth is further evidence that life may have existed on Mars at least once. “The verification of ancient life on Mars carries an enormous burden of proof,” writes the space agency.
However, more detailed investigations of the discovered material will only be possible when further NASA missions in cooperation with the ESA (European Space Agency) set off to the red planet to collect the discoveries of the Mars rover “Perseverance” and bring them to Earth. However, such a mission is not planned until 2030. While NASA wants to prove life on Mars, another US space company is aiming for human colonization of the red planet. Tesla boss Elon Musk even wants to build a city on Mars with SpaceX and said, everyone can afford a 100,000 euro ticket to Mars.
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