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Ancient microbial life could explain minerals detected on Mars, new study finds
The Perseverance rover took this selfie in 2021. Instruments on the rover were key to a discovery that could point toward ancient microbial life.
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Courtesy NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
)
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Ancient microbial life could explain minerals detected on Mars, new study finds
Scientists report that they may have found Martian minerals that on Earth are formed by microbes in oxygen-free, muddy environments. But they say other explanations are possible, too.
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.
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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.
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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.
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