This week, NASA said scientists took the biggest step yet toward discovering whether there was ever life on Mars when a rock sample collected by the Mars rover Perseverance contained potential biosignatures, which could suggest ancient signs of life.

NASA scientists have identified minerals in a rock sample collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars that could be potential biosignatures, suggesting the possibility of ancient life. These minerals are similar to those found on Earth in environments with water at moderate temperatures, sometimes formed with microbial involvement.

The discovery is supported by observations of ancient river channels, mud, and pebbles on Mars, as well as distinctive mud crack patterns indicating repeated wetting and drying cycles. Such findings strengthen the case for Mars having once hosted persistent liquid water, a key requirement for life. Similar crack patterns have also been observed on icy moons like Europa and Enceladus, highlighting their potential as future targets in the search for extraterrestrial life.

The significance of Mars rover's latest discovery

This week, NASA says scientists have made the biggest step yet towards discovering whether there was ever life on Mars. A rock sample collected by the Mars rover, Perseverance, contains potential biosignatures which could suggest ancient signs of life. Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Douglas Jerelmack, has been studying the dried surfaces of Mars and other icy moons to predict habitability and joins me now for tonight's interview. Professor, thanks for joining me. How exciting is this week's news? And help us understand it a little. Sure. To talk about how exciting it is, I'll just provide a little bit of context. So you know, the name Perseverance for the rover is really apt because it's been a long, hard slog for scientists trying to understand if Mars was ever habitable and if there's life that was ever on it or is there now. And so what I mean by that is that for decades now, we've had observations from space and even from telescopes of Earth of river channels. Those river channels were active around four billion years ago. And in the last couple decades, we've had ever-increasing resolution of satellites and then rovers on the ground that have been observing river channels, and then we get on the ground and those river channels have mud and pebbles and things like that we see on Earth. And then we start to examine those pebbles and we see that there's interesting chemicals and minerals. And where this latest study comes in is that there are some minerals that are minerals that when we find them on Earth, we find them in places where there's been water at comfortable temperatures and that may have had microbes that helped produce them. And so we've never found minerals like this on Mars before. They're pretty exotic and there's a possibility that life may have been involved in forming them. So that's new. Oh, that's great. I mean, because it's a clear explanation, which was sometimes missing in some of what I read about it. Tell me about your work with surface fractures and what that tells us about possible life on other planets. Right. And so the idea is that, you know, when we're searching for life on other planets, we're always after water. We're following water because on Earth, we've never found any kind of life that can exist without the presence of water. And so there are two kind of signatures that we can see from water that's related to crack patterns. One of them is that when we see ice, ice cracks in a very special way because of the fact that it cracks and heals and cracks again. And so it makes this overprinting pattern like you see in these pictures. And the other kind of special crack pattern that is associated with water is mud cracks like you see now. Of course, we see mud cracks on Earth on dried up lake beds and next to a river. But there's special signatures in the geometry of these mud cracks that can tell us whether it was just a one and done event that the mud dried and cracked or whether it got wet and dry and wet and dry. And that wetting and drying actually causes the geometry to change. And when we see hexagonal like mud crack patterns, it actually tells us that we had persistent wetting and drying of water. And we've actually seen hexagonal mud cracks on Mars in ancient lake beds. And that's something that my group and others have worked on. So there's multiple signs coming together that there were environments that had liquid water present for a long period of time, which are just additional constraints on life on Mars. We have 15 seconds left, Professor. Anywhere else other than Mars, you've seen those patterns? Not the mud cracks, but the crack patterns that we see in ice, we also see on Europa and Enceladus, which are icy moons that are interesting targets for looking for life in the future. Professor Douglas Jeromek, thank you so much for being with us. Sure. Thank you.

President Trump has backed down on his plans to send the National Guard to Chicago, for now. Instead, he told Fox News that federal troops will be deployed to a different city.

Chicago

Trump backs down on sending National Guard to Chicago

A suspect is in custody after the deadly shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Authorities say 22-year-old Tyler Robinson is being held at Utah County Jail, pending formal state charges, which are expected to be filed on Tuesday. CBS News' Andres Gutierrez and Anna Schecter have more.

Orem

What we know about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect's arrest

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a meeting of world leaders.

New York

Middle East Conflict

UN endorses two-state solution declaration that condemns Hamas

In Tunisia, the humanitarian aid flotilla for Gaza is set to leave Tunis. About 40 boats will try to deliver aid to the Palestinians under blockade. In Tunisia the departure was not easy, as two boats from the flotilla were subject to reported drone attacks.

Tunis

Gaza aid flotilla prepares to set sail after reported drone attacks

Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for coup plotting at the end of a landmark trial that divided the nation and drew U.S. fury.

Brasilia

Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison

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Jerusalem

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Doha

UNSC members condemn Israel over deadly strike on Qatar

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Fort Pierce

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Photos released of "person of interest" in Charlie Kirk assassination

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FBI says it has good video of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

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Washington

Trump says he'll award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom

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Warsaw

Ukraine Invasion

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London

King Charles, Prince Harry meet for the first time in nearly 2 years

U.S. President Donald Trump says rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk is dead after being shot in the neck at a university campus event in Utah. There is not a suspect in custody.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk killed in shooting, Trump says

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted on Wednesday (September 10) to acquit former President Jair Bolsonaro of forming a criminal organization and voted to annul his trial over jurisdiction, breaking with peers and raising the odds of an appeal after the final verdict this week.

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U.S. President Donald Trump urged EU officials on Tuesday to hit China with tariffs of up to 100% as part of a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a U.S. official and an EU diplomat.

Global Tariffs

Trump urges EU to impose 100% tariffs on China and India, sources say

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Two Brazilian Supreme Court justices voted to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro of leading a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election, as they cast the first votes in the final phase of the ex-president's trial.

Two Brazil Supreme Court justices vote to convict Bolsonaro

Nepal’s prime minister has stepped down with at least 22 people dead, the country’s parliament in flames and its main airport shut down during a violent revolt. The unrest started over a social media ban and grew into a broader anti-corruption protest.

Kathmandu

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U.S. President Donald Trump can't escape questions about Jeffrey Epstein as a congressional committee released a suggestive personal note to Epstein allegedly from Trump, for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday.

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Israel's military said it "conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization," amid reports of large explosions in Qatar's capital city, Doha.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has named loyalist Sebastien Lecornu, a one-time conservative protégé who rallied behind his 2017 presidential run, as prime minister. Analysts say France is in the midst of a complicated political crisis.

Paris

France's Macron names loyalist Lecornu as new PM

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Flotilla for Gaza ship struck by drone off Tunisia, organizers say

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Michigan

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Israel says it carried out a strike targeting Hamas leaders. One Israeli official says it happened in Doha, Qatar. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio reports.

Israel targets Hamas leadership in Doha strike

The Trump administration launched a new immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, saying the latest federal crackdown in a US city would target the "worst of the worst criminals." But activists in the city remain defiant and say they will resist efforts by ICE to snatch people off the streets.

Breakdown