NASA's Perseverance Mars rover project has determined that the bedrock its six-wheeled explorer has been traveling on since its February arrival was most likely produced by red-hot lava. The researchers also discovered that rocks in the Jezero crater had interacted with water several times during the millennia and that some of them contained organic compounds.
NASA Perseverance Rover Finds Life Building Blocks on Mars
The rocks in the Jezero crater have been in the presence of water many times, and some of them contain organic compounds, according to the researchers. These organic compounds can be produced by biological or non-biological processes, so they aren't proof that life was there. However, they are a good indication that if life did exist there, evidence of it should be found.
Furthermore, the scientists discovered that the crater's materials are igneous, having developed from lava flows or magma. It clarifies a significant concern about the crater's nature, as geologists were previously uncertain whether the materials were volcanic or sedimentary.
"I was beginning to despair we would never find the answer," said Perseverance Project Scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in a statement. "But then our PIXL instrument got a good look at the abraded patch of a rock from the area nicknamed 'South Séítah,' and it all became clear: The crystals within the rock provided the smoking gun."
The PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry), according to Digital Trends, analyzes rocks and determines what they are made of using X-rays. Using PIXL on a sample named "Brac," researchers discovered a peculiar structure that suggested igneous rock.
"A good geology student will tell you that such a texture indicates the rock formed when crystals grew and settled in a slowly cooling magma - for example, a thick lava flow, lava lake, or magma chamber," said Farley.
The rock appears to have developed as crystals grew and settled in slow-colling lava, according to Farley (per BGR). That might be possible in the presence of a thick lava lake or lava flow. Water also had an impact on the rock, according to Farley.
The analysis also revealed that the rock is made up of an unusually high number of massive olivine crystals encased in pyroxene crystals.
It's unclear whether the olivine-rich rock developed in a vast lava lake cooling on the surface or in a subterranean lava burial chamber uncovered by erosion.
All of these occurrences might have aided in creating the organic compounds identified by Perseverance. These samples potentially contain a gold mine of information on what transpired in the Jezero Crater. This information might potentially help us better comprehend the period when water was more abundant on the planet's surface.
About Perseverance Mission
The rover arrived on Mars in February 2021 with the primary mission of looking for signs of life in the Red Planet. Perseverance, which is approximately the size of a vehicle, collects materials and either analyzes them in its onboard laboratory or saves them for future trips to return to Earth.
NASA thinks that the rover will characterize the planet's geology and previous climate, paving the door for human exploration. Mars Sample Return also aims to return selected tubes to Earth, where future generations of scientists will be able to investigate them using advanced lab equipment that would be too huge to carry to Mars.
According to ABC.net.au, six of Perseverance's 43 sample tubes have been sealed so far - four with rock cores, one with Martian gas, and one with "witness" material to monitor any contamination delivered from Earth by the rover.
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