NASA: New Mars Rock May Hold Signs of Ancient Life: NASA said on Thursday that, while aliens on Mars have yet to be detected, evidence suggests that the Red Planet may have supported life billions of years ago. The Perseverance rover, part of NASA’s ongoing mission to study Mars, uncovered a spot-covered rock on Sunday that may offer important information about Mars’ habitability.
This “vein-filled” arrowhead-shaped rock was given the name Cheyava Falls after a Grand Canyon cascade. This amazing discovery, located on the northern rim of the old Neretva Vallis riverbed, includes organic components that suggest microbial life once thrived in a long-lost Martian stream. The Neretva Vallis, a quarter-mile wide and carved out by the unrelenting flow of water into Jezero Crater aeons ago, has revealed a discovery that could radically alter our knowledge of the Red Planet’s history.
Cheyava Falls, which measures 3.2 feet by 2 feet, stands out from the other red-colored Martian rocks due to its distinctive leopard-like white and black splotches.
NASA discovers’most perplexing’ rock yet on Mars.
Nicola Fox, an associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, commented, “We designed Perseverance’s course to ensure that it travels to locations with the possibility for valuable scientific materials. This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed was worthwhile since we discovered something new that will provide our scientists with a wealth of information to investigate.
The Perseverance rover surveyed Cheyava Falls several times in search of evidence of ancient microbial life.
Scientists referred to this rock as the “most puzzling, complex, and potentially important rock yet investigated by Perseverance.”
The dark halos on the Cheyava Falls rock include iron and phosphate, which are similarly present in Earth rocks with fossilised microorganisms on their surfaces. Scientists warn that the white and black rings could have come from a chemical process unrelated to living creatures.
NASA intends to transport Cheyava Falls to Earth for additional examination in the coming years. “Other explanations for the observed features are being considered by the science team, and future research steps will be required to determine whether ancient life is a valid explanation,” according to NASA.
