NASA Has Discovered Possible Signs Of Alien Life On Mars

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWNS

Finally, some proof that we may not be alone in the universe, as NASA's Perseverance rover has found a variety of organic substances that may indicate the presence of life in Mars' Jezero crater.

If you're not sure what that means, it means that their ground-breaking findings imply that a more complex ecosystem than was previously thought may have existed on the red planet in the past.

NASA scientists have proposed a few theories to explain where the organic Martian materials may have originated, including reactions between water and rocks, meteor deposits or interplanetary dust, or - most exhilarating of all - anything produced from live creatures.

The researchers say that by learning more about Martian organic matter, choices for crucial carbon supplies and the hunt for potential life signs may become clearer.

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The rover touched down in the crater in February 2021, which is the location of an old lake basin with a high likelihood of once having supported life.

The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) equipment was mounted on the cutting-edge ship.

The first tool of its sort, SHERLOC, enables the analysis and fine-scale mapping of Martian organic compounds and minerals.

It enabled the researchers to take pictures of and examine the rocks on the crater floor.

Sunanda Sharma and Ryan Roppel, two scientists who examined the data, found signs of organic compounds on each of the 10 objects that SHERLEC was able to view.

These signals were primarily concentrated in the Maaz rock formation rather than the Seitah rock formation.

The researchers made note of each formation's particular "spatial distribution" and "diverse mineral association."

This variety, according to researchers, sheds light on how organic stuff may have formed. 

For example, it's possible that water combined with volcanic materials or changed directly from a gas to a solid without becoming a liquid in between.

The study’s authors wrote in their report: "Our findings suggest there may be a diversity of aromatic molecules prevalent on the Martian surface, and these materials persist despite exposure to surface conditions.”

"These potential organic molecules are largely found within minerals linked to aqueous processes, indicating that these processes may have had a key role in organic synthesis, transport or preservation."

After NASA's Curiosity rover discovered rocks last year that contained organic carbon matter, possibly from insects that formerly inhabited the red planet, the finding felt like the next piece of the puzzle.

While the recent findings are significant, they do not conclusively prove the existence of past or present life on Mars. Further investigation, including the collection and analysis of samples, will be necessary to provide more concrete evidence. 

NASA's upcoming Mars Sample Return mission, planned in collaboration with the European Space Agency, aims to bring Martian samples back to Earth for in-depth study.

The discovery of organic substances on Mars marks an important milestone in our quest to understand the potential for life beyond our home planet.