a day ago
Scientists Prepare to Study Mars Rock With Signs of Ancient Life
A new study using a novel form of spectroscopy is helping to advance the techniques necessary to analyze samples returned from Mars. Those samples won't be available until 2033, at the earliest, but one in particular—called "Sapphire Canyon"—could contain evidence of ancient life that makes it well worth the wait.
The only problem is that, as with almost everything NASA is planning, that potential could be squandered entirely by the Trump administration's massive proposed budget cuts for science. Funding for the Mars Sample Return mission, which is obviously required for any of this to be possible, is very much in danger.
Despite the Mars rock being called Sapphire Canyon, that isn't the name of the area from which it was taken. NASA's Perseverance rover chiseled the rock off a larger rock called Cheyava Falls, which boasts various mineral veins. That was last year; Sapphire Canyon has been the focus of excitement ever since.
The rock exhibits a spotted pattern with multiple levels of organization. There are small, dark spots called "poppy seeds," as well as larger spots surrounded by a dark banding called "leopard spots." The leopard spots, in particular, could be the remnants of ancient microbial activity on Mars.
This visual evidence is made more compelling by the fact that the Sherlock instrument onboard Perseverance also detected the presence of organic molecules in the rock. Finding boese things together, both the presence of organic molecules and signs of the metabolism of organic life, represents an enticing opportunity for NASA scientists.
This is the Earth rock used as a stand-in for Sapphire Canyon. Credit: Nicholas Heinz
The new study, released last week, shows that a new form of spectroscopy called Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy (O-PTIR) can read mineral composition even within these spots. It proved its process on an Earth rock with a similar pattern to Sapphire Canyon, beginning to demonstrate the efficacy of a process that they hope to apply to Mars rocks, too.
Of course, geology by photo is only so reliable. To confirm their suspicions, NASA scientists need to get Sapphire Canyon back to Earth for direct study, but the all-important Mars Sample Return mission is very much in limbo.
The MSR is one of the big potential losses in a proposed national federal budget that would cut overall NASA funding by about half. It's the sad reality of the current moment, in which exciting possibilities like this one, long in the works and already billions into its roadmap, get cut.
The sample return mission is just one of many programs on the chopping block, and Sapphire Canyon is just one of many samples that the MSR plans to return.
