The greenish spots at the southern bank of Neretva are also astrobiology-interesting. #LeopardSpots #ReddestRock #MalgosaCrest #JezeroDeltaScience
Broz et al: "Green reduction spots in red sedimentary rocks of the Bright Angel formation..."
https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1990965
#LeopardSpots on #MartianRocks
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day
Bsky thread by Mike Tice, co-author of the #LeopardSpots paper
https://bsky.app/profile/ticeonmars.bsky.social/post/3lywkkxvpn223
I've been asked a few times over the last few days what I think the chances are that the "leopard spots and poppy seeds" on Mars will turn out to be actual evidence of life. People are naturally skeptical given the history of possible signs of life on other planets. Strap in: long thread ahead...
Hurowitz et al: "Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars"
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09413-0
Sounds like a long shot, but linking #PerseveranceRover observations of nickel over-abundance at #NeretvaVallis to the #LeopardSpots
Manelski et al: "Ore-Grade Nickel Hosted in Fine-Grained Sedimentary Rocks, Jezero Crater"
https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-431
@65dBnoise yeah, quite a lot of photographing on just this rock, I wonder if the contact exposure has given some organics signature or something #PDSAnalystNotebook
You meant that apparent #LeopardSpots right? Maybe a coincidence, it being the only clear one. But it's also there in the night pic (https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/SIF_1465_0797024818_031EBY_N0710160SRLC08029_0000LMJ) and with some other spot-like thingies around, although maybe artefacts.
A summary of the samples collected and to be collected by the rover.
Herd et al: "The Samples Collected by #PerseveranceRover: Enabling Decadal Science"
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/1665.pdf
🧵 13/n
This one looks at the opposite shore of Neretva, where things are complicated by unsure stratigraphy (see post nr 1 in this thread). Also there's a lacking detection of organics. Abiotic processes are deemed "possible"
Broz et al :"Green Reduction Spots in Red Beds of the Bright Angel Formation and Implications for Biosignature Preservation Potential"
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/1706.pdf
🧵 8/n #JezeroDeltaScience #LeopardSpots #ReddestRock #MalgosaCrest
These are strong words 😉
Tice et al: "Physical and Chemical Constraints on Biotic and Abiotic Formation Mechanisms of "Poppy Seeds" and "#LeopardSpots"..."
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/2133.pdf
🧵 7/n #JezeroDeltaScience
Interrupting my sequential traverse of abstracts; one thing lead to another and I ended up looking at the #LeopardSpots (+ "poppy seeds") papers, with "strong" wording for potential biosignatures.
Look at the much longer author list of this first one:
Hurowitz et al: "The Detection of a Potential Biosignature by #PerseveranceRover"
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/pdf/2581.pdf
A total of 4 related presentations in the Astrobiology session
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2025/technical_program/?session_no=405
🧵 6/n #JezeroDeltaScience
V Martín
Khurram Wadee ✅