NASA announced it has found the clearest sign so far of ancient microbial life on Mars, based on rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover.
Interim Administrator Sean Duffy said a sample from the Neretva Vallis valley, dubbed “Sapphire Canyon,” showed markings resembling microbial activity. After a year of scientific review, experts concluded no other explanation fits the findings.
Nicky Fox of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate stressed the discovery points to traces of ancient life, not organisms alive today. “This is the closest we’ve come to discovering ancient life on Mars,” Fox said, calling it a major step in answering whether humanity is alone in the universe.