Rocks found on Mars may be evidence of ancient life, says NASA

Rocks found on the surface of Mars offer some of the most exciting evidence yet for the existence of ancient life on the planet neighboring Earth, NASA scientists announced Wednesday (10).

In July 2024, the Perseverance rover collected a sample called "Sapphire Canyon" from what is believed to be an ancient lakebed. The spots on the rocks, shaped like poppy seeds and leopard skin, hinted at possible chemical reactions that piqued the researchers' interest.

If the features are the result of the same microbial activity that created minerals on Earth, it could indicate the existence of life on Mars.

While it's too early to say definitively, the findings, detailed in research published in the journal Nature, are very promising, scientists say.

"They're like fossil remains, the remains of a meal, and perhaps that meal was excreted by a microbe. And that's what we observed in this sample," Nicky Fox, administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, explained to reporters.

When these types of textured, mineral features form in Earth's sediments, they're often the result of reactions between the silt and organic matter, explained the study's lead author, Joel Hurowitz, which could be a sign of life.

Perseverance's instruments identified the minerals vivianite and greigite. On Earth, vivianite is commonly found in sediments, peatlands, and around decaying organic matter. Some microbial life on Earth can produce greigite.

“But there are non-biological ways of producing these traits that we cannot completely rule out based on the data collected,” Hurowitz added.

Several rovers are roaming Mars – Perseverance has been there since 2021 – searching for signs of life that could have existed millions or billions of years ago, when the planet is believed to have been more habitable.

Evidence of ancient rivers and lakes on the planet's surface would indicate that water once flowed there.

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