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In a significant breakthrough, NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered a rock sample on Mars that contains signs of past microbial life. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, is being described as the most definitive proof to date that the Red Planet had potentially supported life.

Rock Sample Shows Signs Of Life?

The rover picked up a rock sample called "Sapphire Canyon" from the Bright Angel formation in Jezero Crater. The formation, a dried riverbed system shaped billions of years ago by flowing water, is considered a prime candidate for preserving ancient biosignatures.  The sample was drilled in 2024 from a rock named "Cheyava Falls." The elaborate analysis has identified organic carbon, sulfur, iron oxides, phosphorus, and strange mineral patterns, all of which may be associated with biological processes. "These discoveries are the strongest evidence yet for possible ancient life on Mars," added NASA's acting administrator Sean Duffy. "It's a huge leap forward in our quest for life beyond Earth.

Significant discoveries from the rock sample:

• Sample designation: "Sapphire Canyon," July 2024.

• Where found: Bright Angel formation, Jezero Crater's Neretva Vallis river system.

• Minerals identified: Vivianite, greigite, iron oxides, phosphorus.

• Significance: Possible biosignature, strongest proof to date of microbial life.

• What's next: Samples could be returned to Earth for further study.

NASA researchers reported seeing "leopard spot" mineral deposits high in vivianite (an iron phosphate commonly occurring near rotten material on Earth) and greigite (an iron sulfide that occurs with specific microbes). The minerals may have resulted from chemical reactions between organic material and the rocks around them, as with microbial energy processes on Earth.

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Perseverance's Mission: Seeking Ancient Life

The Perseverance rover, which touched down in Jezero Crater in 2021, has thus far grabbed 27 core samples. NASA plans to bring these samples back to Earth on a future Mars Sample Return mission. The instruments on the rover, particularly PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) and SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) played a vital role in determining the distinctive chemical signatures.

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Even with excitement, NASA researchers emphasize the finding is not proof of life. "Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence," deputy project scientist Katie Stack Morgan said. "This publication is a big step, but we have to keep testing every non-biological explanation," he added. The discovery that Mars was potentially habitable for longer than before adds new seriousness to the possibility.