Space Planetary Science News

Perseverance Discovers Shallow Organic Carbon Near the Martian Surface

NASA’s Perseverance rover, using the SHERLOC Raman instrument, detected macromolecular carbon in Bright Angel formation rocks in Jezero Crater (including Cheyava Falls), preserved only microns beneath the surface—the shallowest MMC detection on Mars to date. This finding shows organics were present in ancient Martian environments and may have been preserved by minerals, but it does not prove life; determining an origin (biological or geological) will require more sensitive analyses on Earth or via future sample return.