Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

Climate and Environment

Ancient microbial life could explain minerals detected on Mars, new study finds

A selfie style image from NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover shows the rover to the right with the Martian landscape in the background.
The Perseverance rover took this selfie in 2021. Instruments on the rover were key to a discovery that could point toward ancient microbial life.
(
Courtesy NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
)

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive. 

Topline:

The rover Perseverance has detected what are believed to be the minerals vivianite and greigite on Mars, exciting researchers because they’re often byproducts of microbes breaking down organic matter here on Earth. The discovery points toward a possibility that microbial life could have existed on the ancient Red Planet.
Listen 0:42
Ancient microbial life could explain minerals detected on Mars, new study finds

Common on Earth: Vivianite is common in places where organic matter is undergoing decomposition in oxygen-free sediment, while greigite is found below the sediment-water interface in places like estuaries. Slow, non-biological processes could also be a potential explanation for the minerals’ presence.

Support for LAist comes from

What about the organic matter? It’s unclear where it came from. Joel Horowitz — associate professor at Stony Brook University in New York and lead author of the study being published today in the journal Nature — said that it could have been deposited by meteorites that crashed into the lake in the Jezero Crater, which is where Perserverence took the samples. It also could have been synthesized in hydrothermal systems on Mars. Or it could have a biological origin.

The JPL connection: Perseverance’s SHERLOC and PIXL instruments (both built at the NASA center in La Cañada Flintridge) detected the organic matter and what are believed to be the minerals vivianite and greigite.

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist