As the Perseverance rover traversed an ancient river valley in Mars’ Jezero Crater back in July 2024, it drilled into the surface and extracted a sample from of a unique, striped rock called Chevaya Falls. The rover’s instruments then analyzed the sample, which is called Sapphire Canyon, and surveyed the surrounding rock.
When scientists started looking into the data, they found two types of iron-rich minerals arranged on the rock in a distinctive, spotted pattern. Both these minerals are associated with life on Earth. One is found around decomposing organic matter on Earth, while the other is produced by certain microbes.
