Organic material has been found in a recent stone sample taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover from Jezero crater on Mars. NASA scientists said that this discovery is no less than a treasure. Scientists believe that Jezero Crater, once a lake, was compatible with the environment for life 3.5 billion years ago. Ken Farley, a scientist at the Institute of Technology’s Perseverance Project in Pasadena, California, said, “The rocks we’ve been examining in the delta have found the most organic material in the mission so far.
The Perseverance rover’s mission to Mars began 18 months ago. The rover is searching for signs of ancient microbial life. It is searching for rock samples that may have preserved evidence of life. So far the rover has taken samples of 12 stones. Will bring these samples to Earth. Jezero Crater is spread over a radius of 45 km. Scientists estimate that once this crater merged with the river to form a huge lake. The history of Mars is preserved in the sediments of this crater.
Multi-layered rock found in sediments
The rover has found evidence of volcanoes by examining the crater’s floor. Apart from this, many layers of rocks have been found in the sediments. Scientist Ken Farley says, there are volcanic stones along with sedimentary rocks in the delta. These are formed due to the formation of crystals of magma. These were found on the sediment. The stones give a rich understanding of geologic history. We found a sandstone on Mars, consisting of solid stones and grains.
Soil and sand frozen billions of years ago
One of the rover’s sample rocks is named Wildcat Ridge. This stone was formed in a salt water lake when clay and sand froze billions of years ago. Sunanda Sharma, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said the analysis showed that the organic minerals are stable molecules of carbon and hydrogen. These are attached to sulfate.
