Ancient Martian microbes left behind a chemical "fingerprint" (with Dr. Katie Stack Morgan)

Ancient Martian microbes left behind a chemical "fingerprint" (with Dr. Katie Stack Morgan)

From Looking Up by Dean Regas

April 10, 2026 · 19 min

About this episode

Dean Regas discusses the discovery of a potential biosignature on Mars with Dr. Katie Stack Morgan.

Last fall, NASA announced that it found something incredible in a rock on Mars. A core sample obtained by the Mars Perseverance rover discovered a potential biosignature. In other words, a potential sign of ancient life on Mars. Dean Regas chats with Kathryn Stack Morgan, Perseverance project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about this chemical "fingerprint."

People in this episode

Host: Dean Regas

Guest: Dr. Katie Stack Morgan

Topics covered

  • Mars exploration
  • ancient life
  • biosignatures
  • NASA
  • chemical analysis

Keywords

  • Mars
  • Perseverance rover
  • biosignature
  • ancient life
  • chemical fingerprint

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Places: Mars, Mars Perseverance rover

More episodes of Looking Up

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Looking Up podcast page.