NASA has just found one of the most important clues on Mars, and that is, they have found traces of past lives. It was the Perseverance Rover that analyzed a rock named Sapphire Canyon, and inside appeared some compounds that seem to have undergone biological processes (yes, something similar to a fossil), so we would be facing the greatest discovery we could have made on Mars: maybe there was life, although not humanoid life.
The discovery in Sapphire Canyon
The analysis of the rock revealed that there were some dark spots in the rock that contained iron, phosphorus and sulfur, associated with minerals like vivianite and greigite. These elements, on Earth, are usually formed from chemical reactions linked to the activity of microorganisms that metabolize organic matter, that is, from living elements.
Joel Hurowitz, from Stony Brook University, explained that the textures of the sample show complex chemical processes during its formation. The SHERLOC and PIXL instruments, installed on Perseverance, have been the ones that discovered the organic matter in this sedimentary rock, also, it is believed that it was in an ancient environment with water, and you know what water means, right?
What does it really mean?
Nicky Fox, associate administrator of science at NASA, assured that this result represents “the closest we have been to discovering ancient life on Mars”. The agency insists that it does not imply the existence of current life on the planet, but the possibility that billions of years ago microbial forms developed.
Even so, Hurowitz believes that non-biological explanations should still be considered, such as heating processes that could also have generated the same minerals.
Limitations of Perseverance
Perseverance has already done too much, they believe it is at the limit of what it can analyze from the surface. It must be taken into account that it was a mission designed to select the most attention-grabbing samples and bring them back to Earth to be investigated in laboratories.
The problem is that the program in charge of bringing them, the Mars Sample Return (MSR), is in crisis. Delays and costs have led NASA to propose its cancellation in the 2026 budget. So this could simply remain as just another theory.
The uncertainty of Mars Sample Return
The initial plan was that, together with Europe, a mission would collect the tubes from Perseverance and bring them back around 2035. Now, the White House proposes closing the program for being “economically unfeasible”, seriously?!
Sean Duffy, acting administrator of NASA, assured that they are looking for faster and cheaper alternatives, although he did not give more details… The decision worries the scientific community, which sees in the MSR the only real way to confirm if Mars had life or not.
Science vs. budget
And the thing is, just when the most interesting signal appears on Mars, the funding wobbles… And without being able to analyze the data in a real laboratory, we will never be able to find out if Mars had living organisms or not, it is very unfair for science.
The discovery in Sapphire Canyon could be the definitive clue that Mars had life, something incredible, but everything depends on NASA managing to bring those samples to Earth, something that today is quite complicated…
We are facing a unique opportunity to understand if our planet was the only one to generate life or if the universe has harbored other forms, even if they were microscopic! Could it be that soon we can answer one of humanity’s big questions?