NASA has found potential signs of life on Mars, the agency said last Wednesday. Although additional scientific study is needed in order to verify the theory, NASA has said the discovery could be the clearest sign of life it has ever found.

What did NASA find on Mars?

The agency sent out its Perseverance rover to explore the site of an ancient lake on Mars in February 2021. It sought out rocks created or modified by water in the past on the Neretva Vallis river valley, which flowed into Jezero Crater over three billion years ago on Mars. In July 2024, the rover collected a sample called Sapphire Canyon, which it retrieved from drilling into a rock.

Scientists saw leopard spots on the sample after it was collected. After thorough analysis, they published a peer-reviewed paper in Nature about the discovery.

“After a year of review, they have come back and they said, listen, we can’t find another explanation,” acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy said, according to CNN. “So this very well could be the clearest sign of life that we’ve ever found on Mars, which is incredibly exciting.”

More studies are needed to confirm there’s life on Mars

Although the sample is still located on Mars, scientists said it could reveal whether microscopic life existed on the planet.

“Hopefully, eventually this will be followed by the delivery of these samples back to Earth where they could be studied in terrestrial labs,” Lindsay Hays, the senior scientist for Mars Exploration at NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said.

The leopard spots seen on the sample require analysis in order to find out if they formed because of microbial life or through geochemical processes that don’t require life.

“It’s not life itself,” Nicky Fox, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said, according to Earth.

“We cannot claim this is more than a potential biosignature,” lead author of the study Joel A. Hurowitz added.

The scientific process requires a strict set of tests and guidelines in order to confirm a discovery. Skepticism and further studies are needed in order to reach a final verdict. Still, NASA choosing to share the potential discovery is groundbreaking.

“Today, we are really showing you how we are kind of one step closer to answering humanity’s, one of their most profound questions, and that is, are we truly alone in the universe?” Nicky Fox, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said, per CNN.

“This very well could be the clearest sign of life that we’ve ever found on Mars,” acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy added.

mars

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week