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The ancient rockbed on Mars is estimated to be over three billion years old.
Perseverance utilized advanced technologies such as laser, infrared, and X-ray to analyze 126 sedimentary rocks and eight rock surfaces within the Neretva Vallis region.
This discovery is crucial as previous studies have indicated that pyrite often forms through chemical reactions involving living microorganisms.
Even if the nickel-rich rocks weren’t created by microbial life, they provide further evidence that Mars might have once supported life.
Nickel plays a vital role in the enzymes of many ancient life forms, including archaea and various bacterial species.
The find adds to a growing body of evidence that life could have once existed on the Martian planet.
It’s not the first discovery that Perseverance has made on the topic.
In 2024, the rover discovered rocky “leopard spots” in the Jezero crater, indicative of ancient microbial chemical reactions.
NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy called that find “the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars”.
“The identification of a potential biosignature on the Red Planet is a groundbreaking discovery, and one that will advance our understanding of Mars,” he said at the time.
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