NASA火星探测器已到达有望寻找化石生命的地点

NASA's Perseverance rover has landed on Mars in Jezero Crater, a promising site to search for evidence of past life. The crater contains ancient muds and sediments deposited by a river into a lake over 3 billion years ago. While the rover may come across well-preserved fossils, it will collect samples to be returned to Earth by a follow-on mission. A recent addition to the rover's collection, an intriguing sample called "Comet Geyser," comes from an outcrop near the crater's edge and is dominated by carbonate minerals, cemented together with pure silica.

This sample is significant as it may have formed under conditions habitable to life and could help solve the mystery of the scarcity of carbonate minerals on Mars. Moreover, fine-grained carbonates like Comet Geyser have a high potential to preserve delicate fossils and organic matter. Scientists are eager to analyze these samples on Earth to explore their secrets, but the return mission faces challenges due to concerns about risk, time, and cost. Despite these obstacles, the scientific community supports Mars sample return as a priority for planetary science, as the samples may revolutionize our understanding of life in the universe and provide valuable insights into the history of Mars.