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Nasa’s Perseverance rover has analysed a rock on Mars that has “some indications” it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago.

The vein-filled, arrowhead-shaped rock was nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” by the Nasa team.

In an analysis by Perseverance’s instruments, it found the rock exhibits chemical signatures and structures that could possibly have been formed by life billions of years ago when the area being explored by the rover contained running water.

But other explanations are also being considered and future research steps will be required to determine whether ancient life is a valid explanation.

The rock was collected on 21 July, as the rover explored the northern edge of Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley measuring 400 metres wide that was carved by water rushing into Jezero Crater long ago.

To determine which rocks to analyse, the rover used its SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) instrument to find samples that...

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  • The general conclusion about this announcement is that "there are a lot of maybe's!"

    It should be highlighted that NASA recovery of the sample and it's return to earth for further testing and possible confirmation, is on indefinite hold due to mission cost.

    So there is a real possibility that  we will never confirm these published results, until man lands on Mars.

    Peter Brooks

    Palm Bay 

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