The Mars probe reveals new details about the history of water on the Red Planet
Scientists, including planetary scientist Eva Schiller of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used the SHERLOC instrument aboard the Mars probe Perseverance to measure the chemical composition of rock samples from Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake and river bed.
The team published the findings in three papers in the journals Science and Science Advances on Wednesday.
Presence of water and chemicals
Since the Perseverance spacecraft landed on the Jezero crater on Mars in February 2021, scientists have been analyzing the data collected by the spacecraft to search for signs of water and organic chemicals that indicate ancient life on Mars.
The area around Jezero Crater was of particular interest to scientists because they suspected it was likely a river delta.
"These kinds of environments on Earth are the places where life thrives," said astrobiologist Amy Williams, one of the long-term planners of the "Perseverance" mission from the University of Florida in the United States.
“The goal of exploring the Jezero Delta and the crater is to search these once habitable environments for rocks that may contain evidence of ancient life,” explained Dr. Williams.
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