Mysterious forgotten rock proves Mars could have had life

(NLDO) - A rock thrown around in a drawer at Purdue University (USA) turned out to be a 742 million year old Martian treasure.

A strange rock suspected to be a meteorite was found in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931, then forgotten. But modern analytical techniques have just proven it to be an unparalleled treasure from Mars, according to Live Science.

It could be something similar to what NASA scientists have been hoping to find through multi-million dollar missions: Evidence of a Mars that isn't "dead."

"The Forgotten Rock", the Lafayette Meteorite from Mars - Photo: PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Writing in the scientific journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters, a team of researchers from Purdue University said that the rock is not only a meteorite, but also evidence that Mars had liquid water 742 million years ago!

Many scientists - including NASA scientists - believe that Mars once had water and life like Earth.

But that was 3 billion years ago. Then the planet lost its water and space and possibly all life on it became extinct.

The meteorite, dubbed Lafayette, proves the unexpected: liquid water existed 742 million years ago, and even today.

The minerals inside the "forgotten rock" must clearly have formed under interaction with liquid water, but where the water is is the question.

"We don't think there was much liquid water on the surface of Mars at this time," said Associate Professor Marissa Tremblay.

Instead, the authors believe the water comes from melting underground ice near the surface, known as permafrost.

More importantly, the melting of this permafrost layer is due to magmatic activity that still occurs periodically on Mars to this day.

Thus, there may still be water regularly present beneath the surface of this seemingly deadly planet, meaning that life still has a "narrow window" to survive and evolve.

Previously, a study by the same group of authors in 2022 discovered traces of a fungus on the surface of Lafayette, but it was not possible to determine whether it was an extraterrestrial fungus or simply contaminated after landing on Earth.

Until now, no one knows when this treasure from Mars landed on Earth.

However, an old Purdue University record says that a student witnessed a meteorite fall while fishing in 1919. That may have been the person who brought Lafayette to campus.

Compositional analysis also shows that Lafayette spent 11 million years wandering in space before finding Earth.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ly-ky-cuc-da-bo-quen-chung-minh-sao-hoa-co-the-co-su-song-196241117110209305.htm