A pair of Martian mudstones the rover collected from the planet\u2019s Bright Angel rock formation in the Jezero crater<\/a> have complex carbon, one of the building blocks of life, scientists say<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMeasurements of two mudstones show hundreds of organic detections, making this the most robust organic detection in Jezero crater thus far, and, to our knowledge, the only detection of macromolecular carbon on a natural rock surface on Mars,\u201d the researchers wrote in a new study<\/a> sharing the findings.<\/p>\n The stones were collected in the same location where the rover previously found evidence of ancient microbial life<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover also found never-before-seen organic molecules that the space agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said<\/a> \u201crenewed confirmation that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life.\u201d<\/p>\n Curiosity previously found<\/a> carbon signatures in powdered rock samples it collected on Mars, too. But those were some 2,000 miles away in Mars’ Gale Crater.<\/p>\n The researchers explain that understanding the origin of organic carbon in the Mars rocks is crucial to determining if there was life on the planet. <\/p>\n “Carbon is the primary building block for life on Earth, and all living things are made up of complex organic macromolecules,” co-lead author Ashley Murphy, a researcher at the Planetary Science Institute, told Space.com on Wednesday<\/a>. “On Earth, [macromolecular carbon] is often found in extremely old rocks and in some cases it is the only organic evidence of past microbial life.\u201d<\/p>\n But they don\u2019t yet know if the carbon in the mudstones was produced by something living or non-living. <\/p>\n The new carbon \u201ccould be from meteorites or cosmic dust; abiological processes like hydrothermal reactions; or they could be biological in nature,\u201d planetary scientist Paul Byrne, of Washington University in St. Louis, told Science News<\/a>. <\/p>\n The researchers used the Perseverance rover\u2019s chemical-analyzing Raman spectrometer instrument to map where carbon was throughout the samples. <\/p>\n \u201cOne mudstone\u2019s interior contained organic carbon within a primary silicate-dominated matrix; the other mudstone held organic carbon with secondary carbonate and sulfate minerals. The carbon in both rocks was not too weathered, indicating it may be recently exposed to Mars\u2019 surface \u2013 or may be somewhat resistant to radiation and oxidation,\u201d a release<\/a> from the American Academy of Sciences said.<\/p>\n To understand if samples collected by Perseverance are signs of ancient life, they need to be studied back on Earth. The rover can identify the chemical and mineral makeup<\/a> of areas on Mars, but it doesn\u2019t have the ability to characterize the organic carbon\u2019s make-up.<\/p>\n The stones are a part of dozens of samples Perseverance has collected to be sent home.<\/p>\n When that could happen is anyone\u2019s guess because NASA\u2019s Mars Sample Return program has been overhauled in favor of two cheaper strategies.<\/p>\n![\"NASA's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Low-Res_Sol_1218_self-portrait_lowres_8MB.jpeg\")
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is seen in a selfie in July 2024 with the arrowhead-shaped Mars rock nicknamed Cheyava Falls in the Bright Angel region of the planet\u2019s Jezero Crater. The rover collected two mudstones there that have complex carbon (NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/27308_PIA257380-web.jpeg\")
A photomontage shows sample tubes collected by NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover on the surface of Mars between December 2022 to January 2023. To figure out of the carbon is biological in nature, the samples will need to come home (NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS)<\/p>\n