Potential Biosignatures in Jezero Crater Rocks Point to Possible Microbial Influence on Redox-Linked Mineralogy

To the point

Led by Dr. Michael Tice, an international team reports potential chemical biosignatures in rocks studied by NASA's Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater's Bright Angel formation, including organic carbon and redox-related minerals detected by SHERLOC, with two possible explanations—abiotic geochemistry or microbial activity—while a Sapphire Canyon core is planned for return to Earth for detailed analyses, and the results meet NASA's biosignature criteria, hinting at Earth-like microbial processes in Mars's ancient lake.