{"id":552747,"date":"2026-03-29T18:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T18:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/552747\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T18:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T18:10:10","slug":"rubies-on-mars-rover-finds-fluorescent-gems-for-1st-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/552747\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubies on Mars? Rover finds fluorescent gems for 1st time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RubiesView larger<\/a>. | The Perseverance<\/a> rover captured this view as it ascended up the to the rim of Jezero Crater on December 5, 2024. Now the rover has found rubies<\/a> on Mars, or perhaps sapphires<\/a>, in tiny pebbles on the outside of the crater rim. Still image from video via NASA<\/a>\/ JPL-Caltech\/ ASU\/ MSSS.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover has found tiny gemstones in Martian pebbles. They are composed of corundum.
\nThe gems are likely rubies or maybe sapphires, the rover\u2019s analysis suggests. The gems were in a region outside the rim of Jezero Crater.
\nMeteorite impacts likely formed the gems. On Earth, tectonic activity forms these gemstones.<\/p>\n

Rubies on Mars?<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Perseverance<\/a> rover has found something never seen before on Mars: fluorescent gems like rubies<\/a>, or perhaps sapphires<\/a>. The tiny gem grains are inside pebbles near the rim of Jezero Crater. Ann Ollila<\/a> at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico led the research team. The researchers said that the gem grains are composed of corundum<\/a>. On Earth, corundum is also known as the minerals ruby or sapphire. The difference depends on the trace metals inside it. It is also usually associated with tectonic activity.<\/p>\n

Leah Crane wrote<\/a> about the new discovery in New Scientist on March 18, 2026.<\/p>\n

Ollila presented the results at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2026<\/a>) in Texas on March 16, 2026. The two conference papers are available here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Perseverance rover has found tiny crystals that seem to be rubies or sapphires inside pebbles on Mars, where they have never been seen before<\/p>\n

\u2014 New Scientist (@newscientist.com)<\/a> 2026-03-18T22:09:28.131Z<\/a><\/p>\n

Perseverance finds fluorescent gems on Mars<\/p>\n

Perseverance found the first gems inside a small rock called Hampden River. Later, it found similar gems in two more pebbles, Coffee Cove and Smiths Harbour. These pebbles are on the outside of Jezero Crater, near the rim. These gem grains are tiny, only about 0.008 inches (0.2 mm) across.<\/p>\n

The rover used its SuperCam<\/a> instrument to analyze the rocks, using two different lasers. The lasers can analyze the composition of the pebbles. They can also be used to create luminescence<\/a> \u2013 the emission of optical radiation<\/a> (ultraviolet<\/a>, visible or infrared<\/a>) by a substance due to a process other than heating \u2013 if the rocks contain luminescent materials. And indeed they did \u2026 the resulting luminescent light showed that the rocks contain corundum.<\/p>\n

\"CloseupRemote Micro-Imager (RMI<\/a>) images of the pebbles Hampden River (top) and Coffee Cove (bottom). The red crosses mark the observations by the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS<\/a>) instrument. Meanwhile, the yellow circles mark the observations by luminescence spectroscopy<\/a>. Image via NASA\/ Sharma et al.\/ LPSC<\/a>.
\nDid meteorite impacts form the rubies on Mars?<\/p>\n

On Earth, rubies and sapphires usually form from tectonic activity. But what about Mars? The planet does have some residual tectonic processes now, and it had much more activity in the past. It\u2019s probably not enough to account for the gems, however. And Mars never had plate tectonics<\/a>, the way Earth does. As Ollila explained to New Scientist<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[Corundum] usually is associated, on Earth, with tectonism. It\u2019s a very specific environment; you have to have a very silica-poor environment, very aluminum-rich.<\/p>\n

Instead, the researchers said that meteorites impacting the Martian surface likely formed the corundum. Allan Treiman<\/a> at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Texas said:<\/p>\n

I was very surprised. In retrospect, one might not have been, because there are aluminum-rich outcrops elsewhere on the planet and there are impacts, but I thought it was very shocking to see this.<\/p>\n

Ollila added:<\/p>\n

I would love to be able to pick one of those up and analyze it and see if it looks red. It\u2019s pretty disappointing that all you can see is this white pebble.<\/p>\n

\"SmilingAnn Ollila<\/a> at Los Alamo National Laboratory led the research team studying the fluorescent gems that Perseverance found. Image via Loop<\/a>.
\n\"Oblong,View larger<\/a>. | A naturally occurring ruby<\/a> crystal on Earth. Image via Adrian Pingstone\/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.
\nRubies on Earth<\/p>\n

On our planet, rubies are red gemstones composed of transparent red corundum, a mineral form of aluminum oxide. And the color of rubies can vary from deep cochineal to pale rose red. Plus, in some cases there is a tinge of purple in rubies. The most valued color of a ruby is a pigeon-blood red<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition, it is also possible to produce rubies artificially. These synthetic rubies can possess the physical characteristics of natural corundum. However, they may be distinguished by microscopic bubbles and striae.<\/p>\n

In 2023, scientists reported<\/a> that NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover also found opal<\/a> on Mars. Opal is another clue pointing to past water in the region and habitable conditions in the past.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Are there rubies on Mars? NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover has found tiny fluorescent gems in pebbles that appear to be rubies or sapphires.<\/p>\n

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Supercam Identifies Corundum in Jezero Crater, Mars, Using Time-ResolvedLuminescence Spectroscopy<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: Detailed Analysis Of R1 And R2 Luminescence Lines of Cr3+ at Hampden River andCoffee Cove Rocks at The Jezero Crater\u2019s Rim, Mars<\/a><\/p>\n

Via New Scientist<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more: Discovery of opal on Mars boosts chances for life<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more: Corals on Mars? NASA rover finds more remarkably weird rocks<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Scott Anderson
\n View Articles<\/a><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/p>\n

Paul Scott Anderson has had a passion for space exploration that began when he was a child when he watched Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos. He studied English, writing, art and computer\/publication design in high school and college. He later started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which was later renamed Planetaria. He also later started the blog Fermi Paradoxica, about the search for life elsewhere in the universe.
\n
\nWhile interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science and SETI. In 2011, he started writing about space on a freelance basis with Universe Today. He has also written for SpaceFlight Insider and AmericaSpace and has also been published in The Mars Quarterly. He also did some supplementary writing for the iOS app Exoplanet.
\n
\nHe has been writing for EarthSky since 2018, and also assists with proofing and social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"View larger. | The Perseverance rover captured this view as it ascended up the to the rim of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[157080,3406,245759,79,193],"class_list":{"0":"post-552747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-jezero-crater","9":"tag-perseverance-rover","10":"tag-rubies-on-mars","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}