NASA finds new evidence for life on Mars

Biosignatures of potential ancient microbial life found in dry riverbed

- Jamie Middleton

We've had a few false alarms before – including fossilised microbes and signs of carbon dioxide production in Martian rocks – but NASA has now cautiously suggested it's found signs that life once existed on Mars at the same time that it was emerging on Earth.

Since 2021, the Perseverance rover has been exploring what's thought to be a dried-up lake in Jezero Crater, a site chosen for its potential to preserve ancient life, if it ever existed on the Red Planet. In July last year, near the mouth of an ancient river, it took samples from the Bright Angel formation, rocks marked with patterns nicknamed 'leopard spots' and 'poppy seeds'.