There's a small chance this is one of the biggest findings in scientific history: turns out there's things that look surprisingly like tiny fungal puffballs on Mars, and they seem to grow.
Also, there seems to be something that looks like fungal growths on on rovers. Which as the authors' point out, could easily be contamination from earth. Even that would be a finding with huge implications: life growing on another planet. Sure, life we introduced. But still!
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351252619_Fungi_on_Mars_Evidence_of_Growth_and_Behavior_From_Sequential_Images
any reason why these wouldn't be noticed by now, assuming they have been there for a very long time?
@mithrandir They're very small, and they have been noticed for awhile. Scientists have been arguing about what they might be for some time, with many thinking they were just mineral deposits (there's no equipment on any of the Mara rovers that can directly measure the composition of these 2mm balls iiuc).
