An image provided by NASA shows the Perseverance Mars rover taking a selfie, made up of 62 individual images in 2024.

NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance has uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life, scientists reported Wednesday.

They stressed that in-depth analysis is needed of the sample gathered there by Perseverance – ideally in labs on Earth – before reaching any conclusions.

Roaming Mars since 2021, the rover cannot directly detect life. Instead, it carries a drill to penetrate rocks and tubes to hold the samples gathered from places judged most suitable for hosting life billions of years ago. The samples are awaiting retrieval to Earth – an ambitious plan that’s on hold as NASA seeks cheaper, quicker options.

Calling it an “e

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