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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) tested the instruments aboard its new Mars rover in the deserts of Australia to determine if the instruments can detect life.
Called Perseverance, the rover will look for signs of past lives on the Red Planet. It will investigate rocks and soil samples in the Martian crater, Jezero. It is an area that scientists believe is suitable for microbial life.
(Photo: NASA)
Artist’s rendering of the Mars Perseverance Rover
A study using the Mars Perseverance Rover’s life detection instruments showed promising results. The Mars rover successfully found real fossils and signs of microbes hundreds of millions of years ago during a trial at the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, it said in a report in Futurism.
The Mars Perseverance Rover will examine the Martian surface with seven scientific instruments that can determine a wide range of organic molecules in geological samples.
Find traces of ancient life
The researchers told Futurism that, using the data collected by Perseverance, they found signs of ancient life and were able to make an intelligent assumption about the environmental conditions during the time of the microbes.
The study results appeared in the latest issue of the journal Astrobiology. The researchers said this development could help lead us to future astrobiological studies in the ancient history of other planets.
Bonnie Teece, an astrobiologist at the University of New South Wales, said it’s interesting to note that the vehicle found signs of ancient microbial life from the Cambrian period.
Teece added that animals first evolved on earth during that period. “We found biomarkers, we found organic compounds, and we found physical and mineral fossils associated with biology on Earth.”
(Photo: NASA)
Artist’s rendering of the Mars Perseverance Rover
An essay
When asked why researchers chose the area, Teece explained that the landscape of the Flinders Range is comparable to what Perseverance will find on Mars. Like Mars, the area is dry, dusty, and windswept terrain.
Heat and pressure in the Flinders range could degrade fossils under such conditions, which are the same conditions on the Martian surface.
“We wanted to use the same techniques that are in the Rover to identify the best areas to search for life and demonstrate that these techniques work well together,” Teece said in the report.
NASA built the Mars Perseverance Rover to continue its long-term exploration of Mars. The car-sized six-wheeled rover will drive across the Martian surface to answer long-standing questions about the possible existence of life on the Red Planet.
NASA said what makes this mission unique is that it will take our exploration of Mars to the next level. The new Mars rover can only look for signs of habitable conditions on the planet, but also look for signs of past microbial life.
The Mars Perseverance Rover carries a drill that will collect samples of rock and soil cores. Then, it will set those samples aside in a “cache” on the surface of Mars.
The Mars mission is also another opportunity to learn more about Mars and test technologies that can help solve the challenges of future human expeditions on the planet.
These include testing a method of producing oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, identifying other resources, improving landing techniques, and characterizing the climate, dust, and other potential environmental conditions that could affect future astronauts living and working on Mars.
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