NASA’s Perseverance, better known as the Mars rover, has uncovered some unusual rocks that do not appear to be from the area where they were found. Along the rim of the Jezero Crater, a stony bowl-shaped depression north of the Martian equator that scientists believe once contained a massive lake billions of years ago, Perseverance is presently searching for signs of ancient life in the hills and rocky outcrops. To gather information about the former climate of Mars, the rover has been traveling down Witch Hazel Hill, a steep incline, since December 2024.
NASA’s latest discovery has caused panic among experts and science researchers
NASA announced that a boulder, dubbed “Skull Hill,” was discovered at the geological border between dark and light rock outcrops, characterized by its dark color, angular shape, and pitted texture. According to geologists, there are a number of these rocks in the area known as Port Anson that might have been brought there from somewhere else. Mars’s warmer, wetter climate billions of years ago likely led to the movement of loose rocks, known as “floats,” across vast distances. The harder rocks stayed in place on the Martian soil as the water drained away, and the softer surrounding stuff crumbled over the ages.
Another theory is that the holes were formed by the gradual erosion of the rock’s surface caused by little dust and rock fragments carried by Martian winds, which might have functioned as sandpaper. Skull Hill and other black-toned rocks may not be typical meteorites, according to a study using Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument. The composition of these rocks may be volcanic, as they contain minerals like olivine, pyroxene, and biotite, which are found in igneous rocks on Earth and Mars.
Igneous rocks may have been blasted out of the ground by an impact crater or worn away by neighboring volcanic rock formations. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports that Perseverance has sampled five rocks, examined seven others in detail, and zapped 83 more with its laser for remote study. Since landing on Mars four years ago, the robotic explorer has collected the most scientific data at the fastest rate yet. Mission scientists have noted that it often takes months to scour the crater for a rock that is scientifically unique and worthy of being sampled. But according to the statement, Perseverance is discovering intriguing new rocks around the crater rim at every turn.
NASA may have accidentally killed alien life years ago
According to a scientist who recently made the claim, NASA may have inadvertently eliminated life on Mars before identifying it. This discovery occurred over 50 years ago. Other experts, however, disagree as to whether the latest claims are a fantastical daydream or an intriguing theory that could explain several mysterious studies from the past. Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Technical University Berlin, proposed in a June 27 essay for Big Think that NASA’s Viking landers may have sampled microscopic, dry-resistant life-forms concealed inside Martian rocks after landing in 1976.
Because the tests would have overpowered any possible bacteria, the landers’ experiments might have killed them before they were discovered if these extreme life-forms existed and persisted, according to Schulze-Makuch. He also stated that this is a suggestion that some people will undoubtedly find controversial. But he said that since comparable bacteria do exist on Earth and may also exist on the Red Planet, they cannot be ruled out.
This is not the first time that researchers have suggested that Martian bacteria might have been accidentally killed during the Viking investigations. In 2018, a different team of researchers hypothesized that any bacteria present in the soil samples might have been burned to death by an unanticipated chemical reaction that occurred when the samples were heated. This group asserts that it may also account for some of the trials’ perplexing findings. Other scientists, however, think the Viking discoveries are much less puzzling than Schulze-Makuch and others portray them to be. NASA’s Phoenix lander, which replaced the Viking landers on Mars in 2007, discovered traces of perchlorate, a chemical used in fireworks, road flares, and explosives.
