NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered the strongest evidence yet for potential ancient life on Mars through analysis of the Sapphire Canyon mudstone core drilled from Chevaya Falls rock in July 2024, according to acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy who called it "the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars."
Lead scientist Joel A. Hurowitz from Stony Brook University identified distinctive "leopard spot" patterns containing vivianite and greigite minerals within fine-grained mudstone, which on Earth are typically associated with microbial iron and sulfur cycling in oxygen-poor environments.
The rover's SHERLOC and PIXL instruments mapped organic carbon compounds arranged with phosphate, iron, and sulfur in repeating patterns that mirror biological processes, though NASA Associate Administrator Nicky Fox emphasized this represents a potential biosignature rather than definitive proof of life.
The discovery site in Neretva Vallis, an ancient quarter-mile-wide river channel that once fed Jezero Crater's lake, preserves low-temperature chemical reactions compatible with life-supporting conditions, contrasting with high-heat environments that typically erase biological signatures.
While scientists acknowledge that unknown non-biological chemistry could potentially explain these mineral formations, Acting Administrator Duffy stated this finding "very well could be the clearest sign of life that we've ever found on Mars," with sealed samples awaiting possible Earth return for comprehensive laboratory analysis.
