WEST LAFAYETTE — A recent discovery by NASA’s Perseverance rover is giving scientists new insight into Mars’ ancient history and its potential to have once supported life.
Roger Wiens, a professor of planetary science at Purdue University, discussed the findings following the publication of a new study reporting the discovery of organic materials in an ancient river valley in Jezero Crater on Mars. Perseverance has been exploring the crater since landing on Mars in 2021.
According to Weins, the molecules were discovered in an ancient riverbed, suggesting that this area may have once supported life. Organic molecules contain carbon bonded with elements such as hydrogen and oxygen, and can provide researchers with clues about the conditions that existed on Mars in the past.
“Mars does not have much organic material,” Wiens said. “The question is: What little organic material Mars has, is it from ancient life or is it simply out there from the cosmos?”
Weins said that scientists have detected organic material on Mars before, but only in small quantities. However, this is the first time the compounds have been discovered in an ancient riverbed and connected to something found on Earth, made by rock-eating bacteria, called reduction spots.
At the site of the discovery, scientists collected a sample that is now traveling with the rover. Scientists hope to return this sample to Earth and determine whether the organic molecules are from ancient living organisms.
