Space

Article highlights:

The rock, nicknamed Cheyava Falls, has three critical features:

1. First, white veins of calcium sulfate are clear evidence that water once ran through it.

2. Second, the rock tested positive for organic compounds, which are the carbon-based building blocks of life, as we know it.

3. Third, it's speckled with tiny "leopard spots" that point to chemical reactions that are associated with microbial life here on Earth.

However, both the organic material and the leopard spots could have come from non-biological processes.

The rover has reached the limit of what it can learn about the rock.

They go on to say that the confidence in biosignature detection could be elevated significantly if the rock were brought back to Earth for closer study. And, it's implied that doing so would be a worthwhile endeavor.

the win that NASA needs is to stop having their budget slashed

"badly needed win" fuck off

This is exciting! Even if its not microbes its a fascinating find & a win for science.

Though I hate how a someone remotely piloting science experiments via a rover on friggin' mars has to worry about how "NASA needs this win". What is the point of humanity if we don't explore our universe! I find it it so frustrating.

Does NASA really need to "score a win" or is that just click bait?

Goddamnit. Can you imagine being alive at a time when we finally confirm that life is not unique to Earth? I'm going to lose my shit.

So NASA needs aliens in order to justify its existence? The original remit was simply to reach the moon, and there were definitely no aliens there.

That title really hurt me.

Ah, yes. From trusted anti-sensationalist science-based publication... er, uh... Business Insider?

Contrarian opinion:

Discovering that Mars once had life would be bad for NASA. It would mean that human exploration of Mars might not be allowed as it could contaminate the evidence.

And it would be terrible for humanity, according to Kurzgesagt, because it would indicate that we may soon go extinct.

No it's not.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for NASA, it should get it's budget increased by x20 if you ask me, bit they didn't find alien life or anything remotely to it.

Not until there is actual evidence.

This isn't the first time that ALIENS is being screamed from NASA and it's getting annoying. Last time it was from Venus, a planet famous for a number of things, one of them being it having a lack of Hydrogen, making anything alive pretty much impossible. After the fanfare of some chemical components that "could only be created by alien microbial life!" it was just ignored because of course it wasn't alien life.

This too will just quietly be ignored, it seems to be a desperate gasp for breath as their budget slowly gets cut to zero.