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NASA scientist discusses search for life on Mars: 'Who knows what we'll find?' | TribLIVE.com
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NASA scientist discusses search for life on Mars: 'Who knows what we'll find?'

Paul Guggenheimer
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Kelsey Moore of NASA
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AP
This illustration provided by NASA shows the Perseverance rover landing on Mars. It begins when the spacecraft reaches the top of the Martian atmosphere, traveling nearly 12,500 mph (20,000 kph). Entry, descent, and landing ends about seven minutes after atmospheric entry, with Perseverance stationary on the Martian surface.

Humans have long wondered about the existence of life on Mars. Now that NASA has landed the technologically advanced Perseverance Rover on the Red Planet, the search for life on Mars is being renewed.

On Thursday, NASA performed a direct entry of the Martian atmosphere, surviving what NASA scientists call the “seven minutes of terror” to land Perseverance in Mars’ Jezero Crater. The rover will search for signs of past life and gather samples that will eventually be returned to Earth.

One of the scientists who will be analyzing those samples and other data is Kelsey Moore, a postdoctoral fellow in the planetary science section of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Moore spoke to the Tribune-Review about the search for clues about ancient microbial life on Mars and what Perseverance will do to help find them. Watch the interview here:

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