There is a good reason why scientists are so excit about this stone. After all, an initial analysis of the interior of the stone reveals that it must have been in contact with water for a long time in the distant past. “Almost all of the minerals in the stone that we just sampl were form in water,” Farley explains. And that is interesting. First of all, of course, because water is an important requirement for the creation and maintenance of life as we know it here on Earth. The stone therefore confirms what researchers have suspect for some time, namely that liquid water was also present on Mars for a long time and that the conditions may therefore have been favourable for the origin of life.
Traces of life
But that’s not all. What makes this sample particularly valuable is that it seems to be ideally suit to harbour traces of life – if there ever was life on Mars. That too has everything to do with the minerals that make up the sample, all of whatsapp database which were form in the presence of water, Farley explains. We know from comparable minerals found here on Earth that they are exceptionally good at retaining and preserving very old organic material and ancient biosignatures (chemical or physical phenomena that are most likely the result of life). In other words: if there was ever life on Mars, this sample may well be our best chance of finding traces of it.
Bunsen Peak
The sample comes from a rock that the American space agency – owner of Perseverance – has nicknam ‘Bunsen Peak’. The rock is locat on the ge of the Jezero crater; a 49-kilometer-wide crater in Radošas biļetena nosaukumu idejas un piemēri mazajiem uzņēmumiem the northern hemisphere of Mars that Perseverance has been studying since 2021. The rock immiately caught the eye of researchers because it is ar numbers quite large – about 1.7 by 1 meter – and had a rather striking texture on one side. Reason enough to send Perseverance to it. Before the Mars rover insert its drill to sample Bunsen Peak, it also scann the rock with its SuperCam and X-ray spectrometer PIXL.
