NASA’s Perseverance Rover Detects Possible Biosignature on Mars

By Abdul Ahad NazakatReviewed by Louis CastelSep 23 2025

On September 10, 2025, NASA reported that its Perseverance rover had identified a potential biosignature in a rock core collected in July 2024. The discovery, made by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) team in collaboration with international researchers, centers on a mudstone core dubbed "Sapphire Canyon" extracted from the Cheyava Falls outcrop in Mars' Jezero Crater. 

This finding represents the strongest evidence yet for ancient microbial life on Mars, featuring distinctive mineral patterns and organic signatures that, on Earth, are typically associated with biological processes. The peer-reviewed results, published in Nature, mark a pivotal moment in astrobiology and planetary science, offering compelling evidence that Mars may have once harbored life.¹

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What Are Biosignatures and Why Do They Matter?

Biosignatures are physical, chemical, or geological indicators that may point to past or present life. These include organic molecules, isotopic fractionations, or mineral assemblages that are unlikely to form without life.²

Mars exploration has steadily progressed toward the search for biosignatures. Early missions confirmed the presence of water, while NASA’s Curiosity rover later identified preserved organic molecules in ancient lakebed sediments. Orbiters have also detected fluctuating methane plumes, hinting at potential biological or geological activity. Still, these findings lacked the crucial mineral–organic context needed to draw more definitive conclusions.

The Sapphire Canyon discovery stands out because it directly links organic molecules with specific mineral patterns in fine-grained sediments, a critical factor in life-detection frameworks. These interpretations also take into account abiotic processes that can produce similar signals, helping to distinguish between biological and non-biological origins.³ Subsequent contextual work on Jezero sampling and fan-front targets provides the mineralogical framework to evaluate such associations.^{4, 5}

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The Role of SHERLOC and Raman Spectroscopy

The discovery centers on Perseverance’s SHERLOC instrument (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals). SHERLOC is a deep-ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence spectrometer capable of mapping organic molecules and minerals at sub-millimeter scales.² It detects scattered light patterns that reveal molecular bonds by firing a UV laser at rock surfaces.

In the Cheyava Falls core, strong Raman G-band signals pointed to the presence of organic carbon. Crucially, SHERLOC’s imaging capability made it possible to spatially correlate these organic signals with mineral features identified by PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry), adding valuable context to the detection.

Although Raman spectroscopy is powerful, inorganic sources such as silicate defects or luminescent ions can mimic organic signals.³ To strengthen confidence, the Perseverance team employed calibration techniques and cross-referenced data from multiple instruments. This increases reliability but does not eliminate the need for laboratory confirmation on Earth.

Implications for Astrobiology and Planetary Science

The Sapphire Canyon mudstone contains concentric reaction fronts and nodules enriched in vivianite (iron phosphate) and greigite (iron sulfide). On Earth, such mineral assemblages commonly arise from microbial redox activity.¹

If biological, the features could represent microorganisms using organic matter as an energy source and minerals as electron acceptors. This would expand the known window of habitability on Mars beyond its earliest, wetter phases, suggesting that river-fed environments like Jezero remained viable for longer than previously assumed.⁵

The discovery also highlights the value of fine-grained sediments for preserving potential biosignatures. Their ability to shield organic matter from degradation makes them prime targets for astrobiology.

Institutionally, the work reflects broad collaboration. NASA leads the mission, with ESA set to collaborate on the future sample return effort. A wide network of universities and research centers also contribute, offering expertise in mineralogy, spectroscopy, and data interpretation. The sampling strategy and broader mission context are outlined in several recent overview publications.⁴

Driving Innovation: Instruments, AI, and Sample Return Missions

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) program is the next critical step. Jointly developed by NASA and ESA, MSR aims to retrieve Perseverance’s cached samples for Earth-based analysis. The mission architecture involves a Sample Retrieval Lander, a Mars Ascent Vehicle, and an Earth Return Orbiter.⁴

Returned samples will enable compound-specific isotope analysis, nanoscale imaging, and biomarker detection far beyond the rover’s in-situ capabilities.⁶ Demonstrating precision landing, autonomous sample transfer, and contamination control for MSR will also support future exploration of other potentially habitable environments.

Beyond MSR, advances in autonomous operations and space robotics continue to improve target selection and traverse efficiency in complex terrain, reducing reliance on Earth-based instructions and informing future planetary missions.⁷ The SHERLOC instrument itself exemplifies miniaturization of laboratory spectroscopy for space applications and provides a template for field-deployable systems on Earth.²

Future Outlook

The Jezero Crater biosignature remains provisional. Alternative abiotic processes, like hydrothermal alteration, radiation-driven synthesis, or chemical self-organization, could explain the mineral and organic associations.³

Sample return is therefore essential. Laboratory instruments on Earth can measure isotopic signatures of carbon and sulfur, perform high-resolution microscopy, and search for nanostructures consistent with biological cells.⁶ Only such studies can determine whether the biosignature is biological.

If life is confirmed, this would represent the first independent emergence of biology beyond Earth and would calibrate approaches to exoplanet biosignatures for facilities such as JWST and the Extremely Large Telescope. If abiotic, the finding still advances understanding of Martian geochemistry and the planet’s capacity to preserve complex organic–mineral associations. Either outcome refines astrobiological search strategies and strengthens exploration frameworks.

Perseverance continues to investigate Jezero Crater, collecting additional cores that will add context to the Cheyava Falls sample. The combination of rover-based detection and eventual sample return is designed to resolve the biological versus abiotic origin of these signals.

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References and Further Reading’

1. Taveau, J. (2025, September 10). NASA says Mars rover discovered potential biosignature last year. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-says-mars-rover-discovered-potential-biosignature-last-year/
2. Jakubek, R. S., et al. (2024). Spectral background calibration of the SHERLOC spectrometer onboard the Perseverance rover. Applied Spectroscopy, 79(6), 904–922. https://doi.org/10.1177/00037028241280081
3. Scheller, E. L., et al. (2024). Inorganic interpretation of luminescent materials encountered by the Perseverance rover on Mars. Science Advances, 10, eadm8241. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adm8241
4. Herd, C. D. K., et al. (2025). Sampling Mars: Geologic context and preliminary characterization of samples collected by the NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission. PNAS, 122, e2404255121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2404255121
5. Bosak, T., Shuster, D. L., Scheller, E. L., Siljeström, S., Zawaski, M. J., Mandon, L., … Beegle, L. W. (2024). Astrobiological potential of rocks acquired by the Perseverance rover at a sedimentary fan front in Jezero Crater, Mars. AGU Advances, 5(4), e2024AV001241. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024AV001241
6. Sephton, M. A., Steele, A., Westall, F., & Schubotz, F. (2025). Organic matter and biomarkers: Why are samples required? PNAS, 122, e2404256121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2404256121
7. Chien, S. A. (2024). Exploring beyond Earth using space robotics. Science Robotics, 9, eadi6424. https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.adi6424

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