The Australian Outback & NASA’s Search for Life on Mars

How will we know if there is life on Mars? What geological clues can our Martian orbiters and rovers search for and collect samples of to return home to Earth? Stromatolites in the Pilbara region of Western Australia may hold the answer. In June of 2023, members of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, the Australian Space Agency, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), joined together on an expedition to visit three incredible field locations containing stromatolites, fossils of ancient microbial life, and the oldest, most convincing evidence for life on Earth. Stromatolites are rock features that are usually dome or cone-shaped, and are caused by photosynthetic lifeforms precipitating minerals throughout their life cycle, while continuously climbing upwards towards their energy source of the sun. Over time these microbial communities begin to form layers of rock that rise up to form strange shapes in the geolog