NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has now collected two rock samples, giving scientists insight into Mars' history. The first sample named "Montdenier" was collected on September 6, and a second, "Montagnac", from the same rock on September 8, the US space agency said in a statement. Analysis of the rocks from which the Montdenier and Montagnac samples were taken show signs that they were in contact with water for a long period of time, boosting the case for ancient life on the Red Planet.

aceIt looks like our first rocks reveal a potentially habitable sustained environment. It's a big deal that the water was there for a long time," said Ken Farley of Caltech, project scientist for the mission, which is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. The rock that provided the mission's first core samples is basaltic in composition and may be the product of lava flows. The team also found salts within these rocks.