NASA has revealed that its rover may have found signs of ancient alien life in an arrowhead-shaped rock on Mars.
Despite the exciting discovery, the space agency said it remains cautious as additional analysis is needed to confirm the discovery.
The “arrowhead-shaped” rock is said to contain chemical signatures and structures possibly formed by microbial life billions of years ago.
This would have happened when Mars had much more water than it does today.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has found organic compounds, which are the building blocks of life’s chemistry, according to Space.com.
They also observed levels of calcium sulfate, which are mineral deposits.
This suggests that water once flowed through the rock, which is essential for life.
Dozens of millimeter-sized spots, each surrounded by a black ring resembling leopard spots, were also detected by the rover.
These rings contain iron and phosphate, which can also be found on Earth due to chemical reactions led by microbes.
David Flannery, an astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance science team, said: “These spots are a big surprise.”
Morgan Cable, another scientist on the Perseverance team, added: “We’ve never seen these three things together on Mars before.”
The rock, nicknamed “Cheyava Falls”, sits on the edge of a 400-meter-wide ancient valley called “Neretva Vallis”.
Many experts say the rock’s visible features are not definitive proof of extraterrestrial life on Mars.
It is possible that the calcium sulfate detected by the rover penetrated the rock in an “arrowhead shape” 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, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said: “This trip along the Neretva Vallis riverbed was worth it as we found something we’ve never seen before, which will give our scientists plenty to study.”
NASA experts spent day and night analyzing the rock using lasers and special X-rays.
However, it is still unclear whether this rock can prove that alien life once existed on Mars.
This comes after NASA scientists found an “unexpected” but fundamental ingredient for life on Mars hidden in a cluster of yellow crystals.
And an underground lunar cave that extends deep into the lunar surface was discovered near where Apollo 11 landed 55 years ago.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
