NASA might have found Aliens. Then They ran out of Money

If you found this interesting, please subscribe:    / @mystraltv   This video explains how NASA's Perseverance rover discovered potential biosignature spots containing organic carbon, vivianite, and greigite on the Cheyava Falls rock in Mars's Jezero Crater, and examines why the sampled core remains stranded on the Martian surface. While exploring the ancient dry river channel of Neretva Vallis, the rover analyzed a mudstone boulder covered in millimeter-scale reduction spots that indicate electron-transfer chemical reactions consistent with microbial metabolism. Subsequent spectroscopic scans identified macromolecular carbon, iron phosphate rims, and iron sulfide cores, creating a diagnostic chemical gradient that researchers struggle to explain through purely abiotic mechanisms. However, severe budget cancellations facing NASA's Mars Sample Return architecture mean this sealed core, designated Sapphire Canyon, may remain uncollected while China prepares its own Tianwen-3 retrieval mission. What's covered in this video: The video introduces Cheyava Falls, a mudstone rock in Neretva Vallis on the western edge of Jezero Crater covered in pale reduction spots and dark poppy-seed markings. Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley noted that the rock contains calcium sulfate veins packed with magmatic olivine crystals, raising questions about whether geothermal heat drove the reactions. Spectroscopic scans detected macromolecular carbon across the rock, marking the first detection of cross-linked organic network scaffolding on Mars. X-ray mapping confirmed that the dark outer rims of the spots consist of vivianite, a ferrous iron phosphate mineral that forms in decaying organic matter on Earth. The inner cores of the spots contain greigite, an iron sulfide compound that terrestrial microbes produce after exhausting oxidised iron during metabolic reduction. Scientists evaluated four regional rock targets—Apollo Temple, Cheyava Falls, Walhalla Glades, and Malgosa Crest—identifying a clear dose-response correlation where carbon abundance tracks mineral production and iron bleaching. Despite a focus motor failure on the rover's ultraviolet spectrometer on sol 1024, the sharpest reading occurred on the unreacted Malgosa Crest outcrop, establishing a clean control. Lead study author Joel Hurowitz from Stony Brook University published the findings in Nature, acknowledging that confirmation requires returning the sample to Earth. On July 21, 2024, the rover drilled core sample Sapphire Canyon, which could settle biological origins through sulfur isotope fractionation and molecular chirality testing. Astrobiologist Sara Walker from Arizona State University argued that scientists must search for molecules too complex for abiotic chemistry rather than merely ruling out non-biological processes. Independent cost reviews exceeding eight billion dollars led Congress to leave NASA's joint Mars Sample Return mission unfunded in the 2026 budget. The video concludes by comparing Perseverance's stranded core with China's Tianwen-3 mission, which plans to retrieve two-meter-deep drill samples from Mars in 2031. Mentioned in this video: Mars, Neretva Vallis, Jezero Crater, Perseverance rover, Ken Farley, macromolecular carbon, kerogen, vivianite, greigite, olivine, calcium sulfate, Apollo Temple, Walhalla Glades, Malgosa Crest, Cheyava Falls, Joel Hurowitz, Stony Brook University, Nature, Curiosity rover, Gale Crater, Sapphire Canyon, Sara Walker, Arizona State University, NASA, European Space Agency, Mars Sample Return, White House, Congress, Tianwen-3, China.