Martian rock at Bright Angel carries surface carbon; origin remains unclear

NASA’s Perseverance rover detected a shallow surface presence of macromolecular carbon on a Martian rock at Bright Angel in Jezero Crater using the SHERLOC UV Raman spectrometer. While the compound resembles terrestrial kerogen, researchers caution it could be biotic or abiotic, and have ruled out instrument artefacts and Earth contamination. The carbon appears associated with carbonate/sulfate minerals at one target and with silicate-rich sediment at another, suggesting multiple emplacement events over geologic time. Definitive biogenic origin remains uncertain until samples are returned to Earth for isotopic and chirality analyses.