This arrowhead-shaped, vein-filled rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” may contain fossils of the earliest microbial life that lived on Mars billions of years ago.
An analysis of this rock by instruments on the rover revealed that it possesses qualities that fit the definition of a possible indicator of ancient microbial life. The chemical signatures of this rock and its structure indicate that the area being explored by the rover possibly contained running water billions of years ago.
The samples of this rock were collected on July 21, when the rover was exploring the northern edge of Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley on Mars that measures up to 400 meters wide.
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Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist at Caltech in Pasadena, said, “Cheyava Falls is the most puzzling, complex, and potentially important rock yet investigated by Perseverance.”
The image of this rock shows that it contains large calcium sulfate veins and bands of reddish brown color, which suggests the presence of hematite (one of the minerals that gives Mars its distinct rusty color).
After a closer look at the red bands, the rover found dozens of irregularly shaped, millimeter-size off-white splotches, each ringed with black material, similar to leopard spots. Perseverance’s PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) instrument has determined these black halos contain both iron and phosphate.
David Flannery, an astrobiologist and member of the Perseverance Science team, added, “On Earth, these types of features in rocks are often associated with the fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface.”
This discovery could be a breakthrough for the scientific community, as it would be the first evidence of alien life. However, further sample studies are needed to make this possibility a reality.
