"Perseverance rover reveals Mars' watery past and strange sights"

NASA's Perseverance rover has provided new insights into the history of an ancient lake and river delta on Mars, potentially shedding light on whether life ever existed on the red planet. The rover has collected rock samples, including silica and iron associated with phosphate, which could preserve ancient fossils and organic molecules. Carbonate minerals found in the samples indicate past water-rich environments. The samples may be returned to Earth in the future for further analysis. The mission continues as the rover explores an area near the crater's entrance where a river once flooded, leaving behind carbonate deposits.