Could evidence of life on Mars be hiding in clay? Europe wants to send a rover to check

Is there life on Mars … in clay? Scientists think that the minerals in clay could be the key to finding signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.

The European Space Agency is still working toward launching its ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars to search for signs of life. And, according to a statement from the space agency, the rover is now aiming to land at Oxia Planum, a depression on the Martian surface where it's thought that water was once plentiful. There, scientists think that they might find major clues in the hunt for life in the basin's clay, according to a new paper.

"We will use the instruments on board to ground truth the discoveries made from orbit, learn about the ancient environment in which they formed, and if they preserve any evidence of Martian life. Warmth and nutrients on an early martian seabed could have provided habitats for early life," ExoMars deputy project scientist Elliot Sefton-Nash added in the statement.

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