Scientists have just made an insane discovery on Mars that's 'unlike anything we've ever seen before.'
Whilst exploring the environment along the rim of Jezero Crater, NASA’s Perseverance rover collected a rock sample that scientists believe could unlock secrets of Mars’ ancient past.
The sample known as 'Silver Mountain' (the area it was obtained from) is a rock core and the 26th sample collected by NASA.
According to the rover's X account, the 'one-of-a-kind treasure' measuring 1.1-inches (2.9-cm) will be 'sealed in a sample tube so it can be analyzed in labs on Earth in the future.'
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Scientists think the rocks in this area were pushed up from deep underground by a massive impact billions of years ago. That means these could be some of the oldest rocks ever found - not just on Mars, but anywhere in the solar system.
These rocks offer a "rare window into Mars' deep past," NASA wrote in a statement.
What's more, is that this first sample is collected from the Noachian age - a period about four billion years ago when Mars was regularly targeted by asteroids and comets.
Perseverance landed on Mars back in 2021 tasked with several main goals.
It was to search the surface for possible signs of ancient life, collect rock samples for evaluation back on Earth and test new exploration technologies.
"Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan," said former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
During its four years on Mars, the rover has made some pretty impressive findings. For one, it stumbled across rocks suggesting the Red Planet once had water at some point in its history.
Whether it’s just tiny microbes or something more out of this world, we’re getting closer to finding out if there's even been life on Mars.
Scientists are keen to get these samples back to Earth for a closer look, but there’s a problem…
The Mars Sample Return program is being met with rising costs and mission complexity. In fact, the project cost has increased to $11 billion, pushing the return date back to at least 2040. Now, NASA is scrambling to come up with a new plan, with a decision expected in 2026.
Meanwhile, China is aiming to launch its own Mars sample return mission in 2028 and return the samples back to Earth by 2031 - which puts them ahead of NASA by nearly a decade.