NASA needs a new Mars Sample Return game plan to confirm signs of life on Red Planet

NASA is increasingly sure its Mars rover Perseverance found a rock with biosignatures of ancient microbial life. However, the sample would need to be tested in labs on Earth to confirm the findings and the agency does not yet have a new Mars sample return plan after scrapping its previous ambitious and costly mission to retrieve the Martian rocks.

NASA previously announced this intriguing "leopard-spotted" rock named "Cheyava Falls" last summer when it was originally sampled by Perseverance in the ancient Martian river valley believed to have once contained water. Perseverance or "Percy" has been roving Mars collecting samples since 2021. This sample was taken while exploring a rock formation known as "Bright Angel," according to NASA.

Now, the agency said the findings have gone through