Perseverance Rover: Possible Ancient Life Sign in Jezero Crater
Why in the news
Scientists said on 10 September 2025 that a rock sample taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover in Mars’s Jezero Crater may carry traces of ancient microbial life. Non-biological explanations cannot be excluded. The results were published in the journal Nature.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sample | Sapphire Canyon |
| Location | Bright Angel formation, Jezero Crater |
| Setting | Believed to be an ancient lake basin about 3.5 billion years old |
| Rock types | Sedimentary: mudstones and conglomerates |
| Possible biosignatures | Vivianite (iron phosphate) and Greigite (iron sulfide) |
About the Perseverance rover
- Landing: February 2021.
- Mission goal: study Jezero Crater, gather rock and regolith samples and look for signs of ancient microbial life.
- Future plan: samples could be brought back to Earth in later NASA-ESA missions for deeper study.
Exam angle
- Crater explored: Jezero.
- Agency: NASA; possible partner for sample return: ESA.
- Minerals: vivianite and greigite.