{"id":45397,"date":"2023-05-19T07:34:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T07:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=118807"},"modified":"2023-05-19T08:32:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T08:32:32","slug":"how-perseverance-rovers-mars-samples-could-discover-life-beyond-earth","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/how-perseverance-rovers-mars-samples-could-discover-life-beyond-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"How Perseverance rover\u2019s Mars samples could discover life beyond Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists are set to look for signs of Martian life in samples collected by Perseverance and returned to Earth in the next decade. <\/p>

By Mark Sephton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 19 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The search for life beyond Earth is entering an exciting period. Traditionally, we\u2019ve investigated our planetary neighbour Mars<\/a> with landers and rovers that examine the landscape using their onboard instruments.<\/p>\n

This \u2018in-situ\u2019 approach essentially delivers a restricted collection of instrumentation to a place where it has access to a large amount of sample material.<\/p>\n

Now, though, the search for life on Mars is entering a time of sample return.<\/p>\n

\""Composite\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Composite image showing some of the sample tubes deposited by the Perseverance rover at \u2018Three Forks,\u201d a location within Mars\u2019s Jezero Crater. Credit: NASA JPL-Caltech<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This inverts the traditional in-situ approach, by taking a restricted amount of sample \u2013 in the case of Mars Sample Return, about half a kilogram \u2013 and bringing it to Earth where it can be analysed by an entire world\u2019s worth of highly specified laboratories.<\/p>\n

Moreover, laboratory methods are constantly improving; the samples are expected to arrive in the next decade, and the 2030s should be a time of unprecedented analytical capability.<\/p>\n

The first leg of Mars Sample Return is currently underway. The Mars 2020 mission and its Perseverance rover is collecting rock, soil and gas samples<\/a> in Jezero Crater, a 45km-wide impact structure in the Nili Fossae region.<\/p>\n

Jezero Crater was chosen as a landing site because it contains a delta or fan which we believe suggests that flowing water filled the structure to form a crater lake.<\/p>\n

\""Jezer\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Illustration of Jezero Crater, Perseverance rover\u2019s landing site, as it may have looked billions of years ago, when it was a lake. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Using its suite of scientific instruments, Perseverance rover<\/a> is able to identify materials in the landscape around it, looking for those which may be of interest for the scientific community.<\/p>\n

On Earth, all known biochemistry relies on liquid water, so the presence of a lake indicates a potentially habitable environment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that sediments deposited in the lake could preserve signals of this past life, if it existed.<\/p>\n

Here on Earth, sediments associated with deltas are prodigious preservers of life\u2019s organic remains and we hope this has, at least in part, been replicated on Mars.<\/p>\n

The rocks which may contain evidence of past life are probably very old.<\/p>\n

\""Jezero\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jezero Crater as it appears today, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS\/JHU-APL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Compared to Earth, the Red Planet lost its magnetic field<\/a> and atmosphere relatively quickly, and without their protective and warming roles, Mars\u2019s habitability would decrease over time.<\/p>\n

Old rocks present some challenges because the longer materials are stored within them, the higher the likelihood that something would happen to them, causing them to degrade.<\/p>\n

It could be that the primary signals of life, though once present, have long since been lost. For this reason, it will be more important than ever to choose the best samples to return.<\/p>\n

If organic matter has managed to survive in the samples, astrobiologists will be able to begin a forensic analysis on them that they could never do with Perseverance\u2019s limited suite of instruments.<\/p>\n

\""The\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The rim of Jezero Crater \u2013 Perseverance\u2019s landing place and area of study \u2013 captured in a 360\u00b0 panorama by the Mastcam-Z instrument onboard the rover. This image is a section of the whole panorama, which can be seen on the NASA Mars website. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS\/ASU<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Analytical instruments such as mass spectrometers \u2013 which can pick out a vast array of elements and chemicals \u2013 can interrogate these samples, looking for evidence of past life.<\/p>\n

Terrestrial life uses specific organic compounds which allow its biochemistry to operate.<\/p>\n

If such compounds are well-preserved, they would provide a detailed architecture of life\u2019s organic remains that\u2019s distinguishable from any non-biological counterparts.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, we\u2019ll be able to obtain a great amount of interpretative detail and reveal organic markers of life that will tell us both about the parent organism and the environment in which it lived.<\/p>\n

With ongoing activities on Mars and the prospect of sample return, there are intense preparations being made back on Earth.<\/p>\n

Researchers are being trained and techniques are being optimised. When the Mars samples are brought back, the terrestrial scientific community will be ready and waiting.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the May 2023 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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