We might have found aliens. Then we ran out of money.

Get 1 month of super smart dictation with Wispr Flow Pro for free here: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/howtown-yt-2 Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GmjxVrY1CAjH-O4XlopXDfBdibKF1NeS-5pKmgHM2x0/edit?usp=sharing To support independent science journalism and get bonus content ... JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/Howtown We're grateful for the generous support of the Patreon Town Council: Bev Fong Sean Barrett Albychen avaren Evan Hass Mark Tinker L.A. O’Connor Marcos Huerta Joaquim Salles Sam Gaty Edgar Sutawika Navneet Pedro ZM Martin Weeks Dimi Bryce Golden-Chen Estelle Caswell Gregory Laborde Yash Murthy Matthew Stvartak Slightly Suspicious Mind Kellyn Lorentzen-Goler omg.science Duncan Stannett Keith England Jocelyn Tabancay Duffy Casey Schatz Mark McCreary Jonathan McCabe Branden Ushjima Dr Esh | Second Opinion Wookiee Henderson Byung-Cheol Cho Frances Haugen Gilbo Jiménez Melanie Halley Dmitry Archie Stonehill Ed Martini Jose Zaragoza Jr Jamieson Urquhart Nate Hingst Jay McZara Scott Heimendinger Thin Air Noëmie Pedro Sarkis Portela Gregory Batson Ritvik Mrglenna Deborah Clark Larry Fizz Michael Thomas Jamie Thi Ha Phuong Dao Bobby hoang tung tran nguyen WhateverReason Could a tiny tube inside NASA’s Perseverance rover contain the strongest clue yet that something has lived somewhere other than Earth? This Howtown episode follows the discovery of Sample 25, “Sapphire Canyon,” drilled from the Cheyava Falls rock in the Neretva Vallis river channel leading into a Martian impact basin called Jezero Crater. Inside are organic molecules, minerals, and “leopard spots” that may provide a potential biosignature left by ancient Martian microbes. In order to confirm the biosignature, researchers need to study the sample with instrumentation in laboratories on Earth, but the much-anticipated Mars Sample Return mission was cancelled by the US government after a review board concluded that it would cost more and take longer than originally planned.