NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spots” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars’ Jezero Crater in July 2024. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been poking around Jezero Crater for a while now, but one of its latest finds is turning heads. The rover recently drilled into a rock that scientists nicknamed Sapphire Canyon, and it could be the most exciting piece of Mars yet.
As CNN reports, the rock was pulled from a spot called Cheyava Falls, and it’s loaded with minerals like vivianite and greigite. On Earth, those minerals usually show up when microbes are involved, which is why researchers are so intrigued. Add in the presence of organic carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, and iron, and suddenly you’ve got a recipe that looks a lot like an ancient environment that could have hosted life.
Perseverance used its Mastcam-Z instrument to view the “Cheyava Falls” rock sample within the rover’s drill bit. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
The kicker is that this rock is incredibly old. Scientists think it dates back over three billion years, to when Jezero Crater held a lake. If life ever had a chance to thrive on Mars, this is exactly the kind of place it might have left a mark. Of course, there’s a catch. As Nature points out, minerals like these can also form through non-biological processes. So while it’s tempting to jump to “life on Mars,” the evidence isn’t airtight just yet.
That’s why the plan to eventually bring samples back to Earth is such a big deal. Perseverance has been storing cores like Sapphire Canyon for a future return mission, but delays and budget issues mean scientists may have to wait longer than they’d like. If the rock ever makes it back, advanced lab equipment here could finally settle whether these chemical signatures are biological or not.
Still, even with the caution, NASA scientists are buzzing. Sean Duffy, the acting administrator, said this discovery could be a game changer for the whole search for life. Coming from someone at NASA, that’s not hype for hype’s sake. It means this rock really does stand out from everything else we’ve seen so far.
For now, Perseverance is carrying on with its job, drilling, caching, and scanning the Martian landscape. Sapphire Canyon may not answer the question of life on its own, but it feels like a step closer. And if one rock can stir up this much excitement, imagine what else could be waiting just a few meters below the surface.