NASA scours billion-year-old Scottish cliffs for clues to life on Mars

NASA scientists spent this summer in the Scottish Highlands, hunting for clues about ancient life on Mars in rocks that are 1.2 billion years old, the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center said.

The expedition, led by the Goddard Instrument Field Team, followed up on last year’s announcement of potential biosignatures on Mars and will help researchers interpret data from the Perseverance rover, which found “reduction spots” — telltale signs of a chemical reaction that could point to ancient microbial life — in Jezero Crater.

The team hiked the coasts and cliffs of the Clachtoll region in Scotland’s Stoer formation with instruments on their backs. The rocks offer a rare combination, NASA said: they formed in environments comparable to ancient Martian lakes and rivers, and they hold evidence of microbial life from 1.2 billion years ago, before land plants existed. Using handheld instruments, scientists checked mineral and chemical compositions on the spot and collected samples for deeper analysis in laboratories across the United States and beyond.

“Learning how signs of ancient life show up in Earth rocks like these Scottish cliffs can help us understand the story of habitability and the potential for biosignatures to be preserved and detected on Mars,” the agency said.

The follow-on work is designed to advance understanding of Mars data, help mission teams plan new rover investigations and prepare the science community for potential Martian sample analysis. The expedition involved collaboration with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the University of Glasgow, the University of Maryland, Purdue University, Stony Brook University and the University of Cambridge.

Sources

• NASA Science: In Scotland, NASA Scientists Search for Clues About Mars’ Past