The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the closest it has ever been to discovering signs of ancient life on Mars, according to Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate.
The space agency announced on Sept. 10 that after a year of peer-reviewed research, a rock sample found on Mars could contain evidence that microbial life once existed on the planet.
The sample, called Sapphire Canyon, was taken by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover in July 2024 as it explored an ancient riverbed in a location called Jezero Crater.
It was taken from a multi-billion-year-old rock named Cheyava Falls, which was described as having “leopard spots” and could stand as evidence of ancient microbial life….