Overview

• An international team reports in Nature that Bright Angel rocks in Jezero Crater contain organic carbon co-located with reduced iron minerals linked to redox processes.
• Perseverance’s SHERLOC and PIXL instruments mapped Raman G‑band organics alongside minerals identified as likely vivianite and greigite in spotted nodules and reaction fronts nicknamed “leopard spots” and “poppy seeds.”
• Researchers say the textures and mineral associations resemble microbially influenced patterns on Earth, while many abiotic routes typically require high temperatures not indicated in the host rocks.
• The rover collected and sealed the Sapphire Canyon core from the Cheyava Falls outcrop, and scientists prioritize its return for isotopic and ultrastructural analyses that rover instruments cannot perform.
• NASA and study authors briefed the findings on Sept. 10, noting the features occur in comparatively younger sediments, which may expand the window for past Martian habitability while falling short of proof of life.