CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's Mars rover Perseverance uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life, scientists reported Wednesday.

They stressed that in-depth analysis is needed of the sample gathered there by Perseverance — ideally in labs on Earth — before reaching any conclusions.

While acknowledging the latest analysis "certainly is not the final answer," NASA's science mission chief Nicky Fox said it's "the closest we've actually come to discovering ancient life on Mars."

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover takes a selfie July 23, 2024, made up of 62 individual images. NASA

Roaming Mars since 2021 , the rover cannot directly detect life, past or present. Instead, it carries a drill to penetrate rocks and tubes to hold the sam

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