Interest in Martian life had been spurred by a now infamous announcement from the White House lawn in 1996, when President Bill Clinton declared that signs of life had been detected in a Martian meteorite found in Antarctica. That claim was later refuted—but it caused enough clamor to put the search for Martian life at the top of NASA’s agenda.

NASA’s Mars rover collected rock samples that could reveal if the planet once hosted life. Here’s what scientists plan to do with them.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. New images from NASA's Curiosity rover show a series of "boxwork" ridges, which looks like large spiderwebs when viewed from above. | Credit: NASA/JPL ...

To say that a trip from Earth to Mars is merely a long one would be a massive understatement. On July 30, 2020, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent its Mars rover "Perseverance" atop an Atlas V rocket to the red planet to collect rock samples,