Since its arrival on the Martian surface five years ago, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been busy scouring the Red Planet for signs of life and evidence of Mars’ watery history. Now, thanks to its continued exploration, NASA might know exactly where to look for evidence of life on Mars, and it all begins with quartz crystals.
Further analysis of these crystals shows that they are not only pure quartz, but they’re a “very pure type of quartz,” Pierre Beck, a researcher involved in the latest discovery, told the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference in early March.
How do these crystals show NASA where to look for evidence of life on Mars? Well, the history of Mars is still a bit of a mystery. While we wholly believe that it was once likely covered with oceans, we have yet to find substantial evidence to prove that without a doubt.
However, the existence of these pure quartz crystals—crystals that can only form thanks to complex hot-water systems here on Earth—it seems likely that water was once a vital part of the Red Planet’s ecosystem. Exactly what happened to the water and why it all dried up, though, is still a big mystery.
Quartz is also an excellent record holder for ancient life, and scientists have long used it on Earth to help us understand the past. If NASA can analyze these crystals with more detail, it could provide the evidence of life on Mars that scientists have been striving to find for decades.
These crystals could very well become one of the highest-profile targets for the Mars Sample Return Mission, even though its status is still in the air, especially with all the recent spending cuts the American government has been making under the second Trump administration, including possible plans to replace government workers with AI.
The researchers highlight the distinct value of these crystals—and the promise they hold—in a new study featured in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
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