SHERLOC measurements from July 2024 found complex organic carbon on and within four targets across three rocks at Bright Angel in Jezero crater, including the first such detection on a rock Perseverance had not drilled.
The carbon appears mixed with both original silicate sediments and later carbonate and sulfate minerals, suggesting it may have been emplaced during two stages of the rocks’ history.
Scientists say the data cannot determine whether the organics came from meteorites, abiotic reactions or biology, but the find adds context to the organic-rich “leopard spots” reported at the same site.
Curiosity detected organics more than 3,500 kilometers away at Gale crater in 2014, raising the possibility that habitable conditions—or life, if it existed—were widespread on Mars.
Perseverance has cached 30 samples, including the Sapphire Canyon core containing the carbon, yet plans to return Martian samples to Earth have been complicated by budget cuts and shifting priorities.
Why do clues from Mars' Jezero crater look so much like ancient life, yet scientists still can't be sure?
As NASA's sample return mission faces delays, could China's 2031 mission be first to answer if Mars ever hosted life?
NASA’s Perseverance Uncovers Macromolecular Carbon in Jezero Crater: A Major Leap Toward Proving Ancient Life on Mars
Overview
NASA's Perseverance rover has made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting complex carbon molecules, known as macromolecular carbon (MMC), in Martian mudstones at Jezero Crater's Bright Angel outcrop. While scientists already suspected Jezero Crater once held water, finding MMC on the rock surface in this way is unprecedented. MMC is important because it forms much of both fossilized biological carbon on Earth and nonbiological carbon in the solar system. Its unusual resistance suggests it could be preserved for billions of years, making this discovery a major step forward in understanding Mars' potential for ancient habitability.