The Perseverance Mars rover has discovered patterns of minerals that could be a biosignature – something that indicates life may have existed there now or in the past.

The minerals were located on an ancient river valley, carved by water rushing down it. The area on Mars is called Cheyava Falls.

If you’re a current researcher looking for opportunities to work on Planetary Science you can apply for funding through the UK Space Agencies and help explore Mars!

Good news! The UK Built rover “Rosalind Franklin” will go to Mars! It was to ride on a Russian rocket back in September, but when that was cancelled everyone thought the rover when never get of the ground.

The Perseverance Rover carries a device called MOXIE which can generate oxygen. Since the rover’s touchdown on Mars this device has been periodically generating oxygen in many different conditions on Mars.

This is exciting news when it comes to putting people on Mars. This means the oxygen they need could be generated at their landing point before they’ve even left. They’ll need oxygen to breath, but it’s also essential for fuelling any rocket that would get them back to Earth.