Perseverance mission researchers reported findings made by the rover on the Red Planet. Four samples
In the Jezero crater, about 45 km wide, there isDelta is an ancient fan-shaped object that formed about 3.5 billion years ago at the confluence of a Martian river and lake. In the first part of its mission, Perseverance explored the bottom of the crater. The rocks collected there represented the results of an ancient eruption. They formed deep underground from magma and were ejected during volcanic activity to the surface.
Two sampling sites: igneous crater floor (right) and sedimentary river delta (left). Image: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU, MSSS
In the new part of the mission, the rover began studyingrocks formed in the delta. The first four samples confirm that they were formed when particles of various sizes settled in an aqueous environment. Researchers note an unusually high content of organic substances in the minerals.
New samples contain a class of organicmolecules spatially correlated with molecules of sulfate minerals. Sulfates found in layers of sedimentary rock can provide important information about the aquatic environment in which they formed.
Collection of sedimentary rock samples at the Wildcat Ridge site. Image: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU, MSSS
Organic molecules are a largenumber of compounds consisting primarily of carbon, and usually also hydrogen and oxygen atoms. They may also contain other elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. Although such substances can be formed outside the living environment, the presence of organic matter is a sign that may indicate the presence of life in the past.
In the distant past, sand, mud and salts, from whichthe Wildcat Ridge sample now consists of, were deposited under conditions in which life could potentially exist. The fact that organic matter was found in such sedimentary rock, known for preserving fossils of ancient life here on Earth, is important.
Ken Farley, Perseverance Mission Investigator at Caltech Pasadena
The collected samples are packed and together withmaterials mined in other parts of Mars will be sent to Earth in a future mission. Scientists hope that a comprehensive study of samples in terrestrial laboratories will tell more about the possible existence of life on the Red Planet.
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Cover image: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU, MSSS