They’re not completely sure. They never are. But this time, they’re pretty sure. Or, at the very least, sure enough to alert the media. Scientists monitoring the Perseverance Mars rover mission have detected matter that they believe signifies traces of life on Mars. But the mission that will return samples to Earth for further observation is currently set to be canceled under the current administration’s proposed budget.

The Perseverance rover is a 2,260-pound vehicle that landed on Mars in February 2021 as part of NASA’s 2020 mission. Its purpose is to explore the 28-mile-diameter Jezero Crater and study it from a purely geological standpoint.

In July 2024, as the rover was exploring Neretva Vallis, an ancient barren river near the crater, the scientists encountered what they have now c

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