NASA is increasingly sure its Mars rover Perseverance found a rock with biosignatures of ancient microbial life. However, the sample would need to be tested in labs on Earth to confirm the findings and the agency does not yet have a new Mars sample return plan after scrapping its previous ambitious and costly mission to retrieve the Martian rocks.
NASA previously announced this intriguing “leopard-spotted” rock named “Cheyava Falls” last summer when it was originally sampled by Perseverance in the ancient Martian river valley believed to have once contained water. Perseverance or “Percy” has been roving Mars collecting samples since 2021. This sample was taken while exploring a rock formation known as “Bright Angel,” according to NASA.
Now, the agency said the findings have gone through the peer review process, prompting a newly released study and a news conference with acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy.
NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spot” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars Jezero Crater in July 2024.
(NASA)
Scientists found a pattern of minerals in the sample’s leopard spots that carry signatures of iron-rich minerals, hydrated iron phosphate and iron sulfide. These minerals are frequently found on Earth around decaying organic matter and/or can be produced by microbial life on Earth.
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“The combination of chemical compounds we found in the Bright Angel formation could have been a rich source of energy for microbial metabolisms,” said Perseverance scientist Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University, and lead author of the paper.
Hurowitz said between last summer and Wednesday’s announcement, more data was collected from this location on Mars, and the findings were put through the peer-review process with the scientific community.
“Just because we saw all these compelling chemical signatures in the data didn’t mean we had a potential biosignature,” he said. “We needed to analyze what that data could mean.”
NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spot” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars Jezero Crater in July 2024.
(NASA)
Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that this is a crucial step in the scientific process, but abiotic explanations for this rock cannot be ruled out without more testing on Earth.
“We basically threw the entire rover science payload at this rock,” Stack Morgan said. “And so we’re pretty close to the limits of what the rover can do on the surface, in terms of making progress on that particular question. And of course, that was by design, since the payload of the Perseverance rover was selected with a Mars sample return effort in mind.”
The problem now is that NASA doesn’t have a way to return this precious rock sample to Earth for further assessment in laboratories. The agency scrapped its Mars sample return plan in April 2024, sighting budget constraints and seeking new ideas that wouldn’t cost over $7 billion.
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Under the Trump administration, NASA’s proposed 2026 budget is facing a 24% cut. According to The Planetary Society, programs under NASA’s Science Mission Directorate are on the chopping block under this proposed budget, which includes the Mars Sample Return mission. The science arm of NASA faces a 47% reduction in budget under the proposed White House budget.
On Wednesday, Duffy insisted “the president loves space,” and while he has been asked to spend “a little less money,” the agency will find a new way to bring the Mars samples home.
“We’re looking at how we get this sample back or other samples back,” Duffy said. “What we’re gonna do is look at our budgets, we’re going to look at timing, and how do we spend money better, and what technology do we have to get samples back more quickly? And so that’s a current analysis that’s happening right now.”
