Perseverance Detects Carbon on 3 Mars Rocks at Bright Angel
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Jul 2
Perseverance Detects Carbon on 3 Mars Rocks at Bright Angel
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Jul 2
Summary
Three Bright Angel targets—Cheyava Falls, Apollo Temple and Walhalla Glades—showed complex macromolecular carbon on their exposed surfaces, the shallowest organic-matter detection yet reported on Mars.
SHERLOC made the finding by firing a deep-ultraviolet laser at four rocks between sols 1180 and 1218; a control rock, Steamboat Mountain, did not show the same graphitic G-band signature.
The signal points to a cross-linked network of reduced carbon atoms that roughly matches terrestrial kerogen, but researchers avoided that term because it implies a biological source.
Bright Angel sits on the edge of the ancient Neretva Vallis river channel in Jezero Crater, and scientists said determining whether the carbon is biotic or abiotic will likely require returning samples to Earth.
Are Mars's newly found organic molecules a sign of ancient life, or just an elaborate geological illusion?
With NASA's sample return in doubt, will China be the first to solve the mystery of Martian life?
How did fragile organic molecules survive for billions of years just microns below Mars's irradiated surface?
Perseverance Finds Complex Organics on Mars: Scientific Breakthrough Blocked by Mars Sample Return Cancellation
Overview
In June 2026, NASA's Perseverance rover confirmed the presence of complex carbon molecules on Mars after traveling a marathon distance across the planet since 2021. Using its SHERLOC instrument, Perseverance detected elaborate organic macromolecules in two mudstone rocks within the Bright Angel Formation of Jezero Crater, including a rock called Cheyava Falls. These findings were strengthened by the discovery of similar organic compounds in other locations nearby, suggesting a broader distribution. The Cheyava Falls rock also showed unusual surface markings, highlighting the significance of these discoveries in the ongoing search for signs of past life on Mars.