Overview

• A peer-reviewed paper details organic carbon co-located with vivianite and greigite arranged in 'leopard spot' reaction fronts within Bright Angel mudstones.
• Perseverance’s SHERLOC and PIXL instruments mapped the organics and iron phosphate–iron sulfide minerals at fine scales not available to prior missions.
• The team evaluated abiotic pathways but found the high temperatures or acidity typically needed for nonbiological formation unlikely based on the rock’s chemistry.
• The Sapphire Canyon core from the Cheyava Falls outcrop is sealed on the rover and prioritized for possible return to enable definitive isotope and microstructural tests.
• Related conference studies suggest ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover could encounter organic-rich materials delivered by rockfalls and ancient floods at Oxia Planum.