Published by: Patrick Lance Guerra
Date Published: October 3, 2025
Time Published: 4:43 PM
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Perseverance Mars rover found one of the strongest evidence in a rock sample called "Sapphire Canyon" that Mars may once have supported life, published on September 10, in the journal Nature.
While exploring the Bright Angel region of Jerezo Crater, the rover drilled through a mudstone core in a rock named "Chevaya Falls", revealing what seems to be minerals and textures related to the microbial activities on Earth.
The drilled core sample, called "Sapphire Canyon," is an arrowhead-shaped rock about 3.2 ft by 2 ft that contains possible biosignatures of biological origin.
"It's a signature. It's a sort of leftover sign. It's not life itself," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
"It certainly could have been from ancient life, and that would have been something that was there billions of years ago," she added.
Perseverance’s instruments, such as Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) and Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC), first detected the rock’s strange “leopard spots”.
These patterns are believed to be mineral reaction fronts, likely created by the interaction between organics and the surrounding sediment.
The finding is the closest astronomers have ever come to discovering life on Mars, acting NASA Administrator, Sean Duffy, stated.
“The identification of a potential biosignature on the Red Planet is a groundbreaking discovery, and one that will advance our understanding of Mars,” he said.
The rock contains vivianite, an iron phosphate and greigite, an iron sulfide, which are often found in the presence of water and high levels of oxygen. Those patterns hint at life-supporting chemical reactions in the very ancient lake system.
NASA views the finding as the strongest evidence yet that Mars was once habitable, marking a crucial step in the search for ancient life on the Red Planet.
The final confirmation will come from NASA’s Mars sample return mission, which intends to bring back Perseverance's collected Martian rock cores, including the Sapphire Canyon, for closer study on Earth in the 2030s.
If confirmed, it would be the first ever evidence of ancient life on Mars, dating from a time when Jezero Crater still had rivers and lakes.
This cautious but exciting discovery is a big step forward for humanity’s search for life beyond Earth.
References:
[1] Ralls, E. (2025, September 16). NASA announces "groundbreaking discovery" of life on Mars. Earth.com. https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-announces-discovery-of-life-on-mars-with-high-degree-of-confidence
[2] Glasser, M. & Jacobo, J. (2025, September 11). Rock found on Mars could be evidence of ancient life, NASA says. abcNEWS. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/rock-found-mars-evidence-ancient-life-nasa/story?id=125443932
[3] TOI Science Desk. (2025, September 17). Life on Mars: NASA rover discovers strongest sign of life on Mars to date; all you need to know. The Times Of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/life-on-mars-nasa-rover-discovers-strongest-sign-of-life-on-mars-to-date-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/123913709.cms
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