NASA's Perseverance Finds Rocks With Microba Signs On Mars

The appearance of the rock that the Perseverance rover sees (photo: dock. NASA)

NASA's Perseverance rover has again found unique rocks on the surface of Mars. This red rock was found in the Serpentine Rapids area about 20 days after advancing to Neretva Vallis.

NASA explains that this rock is called Wallace Butte. To collect rock samples, Perseverance uses a drill to make abrasion patches on a boulder. After that, the abrasion patches show unique content.

This rover can see striking white, black, and green colors in the rock. From the many colors seen in the rock, the dull green spots are the most striking in the abrasion patches. These spots consist of dark cores with a light green edge that has already dissolved.

"Green spots as observed in Wallace Butte's abrasion are common in ancient'red coatings' on Earth and formed when liquid water seeps through sediment before hardening to rock, triggering chemical reactions that convert oxidized iron into an induced shape," NASA said.

NASA added that iron reduction reactions also sometimes involve microbes on Earth. Apart from iron reduction, the appearance of these green spots can also occur because of decaying organic materials resulting in local reduction.

There are many possibilities that cause these green spots to appear on Wallace Butte. Some of the possibilities involve microbes, so it is important for Perseverance to observe these rocks more deeply.

Unfortunately, the rover's arm could not observe its green spots any closer to finding out the right composition. That way, the composition of the rock is still a mystery.

"There is not enough room to place the cruiser arms containing the SHERLOC and PIXL instruments safely just above any of the green spots in the abrasion area, so the composition is still a mystery. However, the team is always looking for interesting and unexpected features similar to the rocks," NASA explained.