ROCK & ROLL
NASA finds ‘arrowhead-shaped rock’ on Mars that could be ‘fossilised’ signs of ancient alien life
The discovery suggests that water once ran through the rock which is essential for life
NASA has revealed that their rover may have found signs of ancient alien life in an "arrowhead-shaped" rock on Mars.
Despite the exciting find, the space agency said it remains cautious as further analysis is needed to confirm the discovery.
1
The "arrowhead-shaped" rock is said to have contained chemical signatures and structures formed possibly by microbial life billions of years ago.
This would have been when Mars had much more water than it does today.
Nasa's Perseverance rover found organic compounds, which are the building blocks of the chemistry of life, according to Space.com.
They also observed levels of calcium sulfate, which are mineral deposits.
read more on tech
This suggests that water once ran through the rock which is essential for life.
Dozens of millimetre-sized splotches, each encircled by a black ring resembling leopard spots were also detected by the rover.
These rings contain iron and phosphate, which similarly can be found on Earth because of microbe-led chemical reactions.
David Flannery, an astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science team said: "These spots are a big surprise."
Most read in Science
Morgan Cable, another scientist on the Perseverance team added: "We've never seen these three things together on Mars before."
The rock, dubbed "Cheyava Falls", sits at the edge of an ancient 400-metre-wide valley named "Neretva Vallis."
The rolling sand dunes of Mars captured by NASA's Curiosity Rover
Many experts claim that the rock's visible features aren't definitive proof of extra-terrestrial life on Mars.
It is possible that the calcium sulfate detected by the rover found its way into the "arrowhead-shaped" rock during extremely high temperatures, similar to a volcanic event.
Whether this could have led to the black rings observed by NASA is an open question, according to scientists.
Nicola Fox, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said: "This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we found something we've never seen before, which will give our scientists so much to study."
NASA's experts have spent day and night analysing the rock using special lasers and X-rays.
Yet, it remains unclear whether there this rock can prove alien life did exist on Mars.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
It comes after NASA scientists found an "unexpected" but key ingredient for life on Mars, hidden in a cluster of yellow crystals.
And an underground moon cave stretching deep into the lunar surface has been discovered close to where Apollo 11 landed 55 years ago.
Topics