After three years of intriguing exploration, NASA’s Perseverance rover has returned with the most comprehensive photographs of Mars’ surface. NASA science team professor, Andy Czaja, marvels at the rover’s capabilities and milestone success.
Perseverance, equipped with the newest geoscience sensors, found igneous rocks that can reveal Mars’ geological history. Early hydrothermal systems and hydrated magnesium sulphate in volcanic rocks indicated liveable habitats, according to the rover.
The project aims to determine if Mars was once habitable. The rover’s samples are in storage awaiting analysis, and they may contain microbes too small for it to detect. Mars Sample Return wants to return these samples to Earth for advanced research.
Jezero Crater, Czaja’s intended landing site, contains sedimentary rocks and magnesium carbonate deposits that may reveal the origins of life.
Ingenuity’s flights end when the rotor is damaged, but Perseverance’s mission continues. Next, we’ll explore Mars’ older geological formations, which may disclose more about its previous habitats and ancient life like stromatolites.
Czaja hopes to explore Mars with improvised devices many years after Perseverance.
Mars life hunt escalated after decades of robotics and theoretical studies. The Mariner and Viking missions and Curiosity and Perseverance rovers bring humanity closer to resolving the great question: Are we the only sentient species in the universe?
Astrobiologists search the Martian atmosphere and soil for biosignatures, and the discovery of subsurface water and liquid water would fuel the life argument. Mars’ water history, habitation potential, and life-supporting circumstances are all part of the life search. The discovery of life on Mars, the most intriguing component of solar system research, is getting closer with each expedition.
