CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A 4 billion-year-old meteorite from Mars that caused a splash here on Earth decades ago contains no evidence of ancient, primitive Martian life after all, scientists reported Thursday. The same thing can happen on Earth and could help explain the presence of methane in Mars' atmosphere, they said. The only way to prove whether Mars ever had or still has microbial life, according to Steele, is to bring samples to Earth for analysis. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover already has collected six samples for return to Earth in a decade or so; three dozen samples are desired. Millions of years after drifting through space, the meteorite landed on an icefield in Antarctica thousands of years ago.

Source: Forbes January 14, 2022 08:17 UTC