Perseverance rover on Mars. Scientists have made a discovery

perseverance It is a spacecraft on Mars sent by NASA and landed on the surface of the Red Planet in February 2021. The landing site was chosen A crater called JezeroIt is believed that it was a lake long ago. Rich data were collected during the first 208 Mars days for this mission It was analyzed by scientists, and the results confirm that water was once there, and in it organic matter Reporting in “Science” and “Science Advances” magazines.

It should be noted that organic matter does not mean immediately occurrence of lifebut it makes its existence at some time on Mars more likely.

An international research group analyzed images from Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z camera, which provides high-resolution images in multiple spectral bands. What did scientists find after analyzing data from Jezero Crater? I found perseverance Igneous rocks at the bottom of Jezero Crater. Formed from magma associated with volcanic activity or asteroid impacts. It turns out that these igneous rocks have markings Multiple effects of water. Jezero Crater was a lake most likely around 3 or 3.5 billion years ago.

The scientists also analyzed data from the SHERLOC instrument aboard Perseverance. Raman spectroscopy and deep UV spectroscopy were performed Three boulders in the hole. They looked for specific organic compounds, such as carbonates, in the olivine-rich rocks. The results indicate Two separate periods for the occurrence of the aquatic environment In the past few days.

Data from the PIXL tool is also in line with o fluids in this area.

What’s more, Discovery of organic molecules in igneous rocks At the bottom of the hole, Jezero can be connected to the oldest Storm Pit Research (Curiosity rover), where similar compounds have been found in sedimentary rocks. These are far places on Mars, so it could be organic molecules common on this planet.