NASA’s Perseverance rover has uncovered one of the most promising clues yet that Mars may once have supported microbial life. A rock sample nicknamed Sapphire Canyon, collected from an ancient riverbed in Jezero Crater, shows chemical traces described as a “potential biosignature,” according to a peer-reviewed study published in Nature on September 10, 2025, reported Business Today.
The rock, officially called Cheyava Falls, was first studied in July 2024 while Perseverance explored the Bright Angel formation, a set of clay- and silt-rich outcrops in Neretva Vallis. On Earth, such rocks often preserve traces of ancient organisms.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said, “This finding by Perseverance is the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars.”
Instruments detected vivid “leopard spot” mineral patterns containing organic carbon, sulfur, phosphorus and iron.
Scientists also identified vivianite (hydrated iron phosphate), and greigite (iron sulfide), both of which on Earth are frequently linked to decaying organic matter and microbial processes. While these minerals can form without life, researchers found little evidence of the extreme conditions usually needed for purely chemical origins.
The rocks studied are younger than many previously analysed, suggesting Mars may have remained habitable longer than assumed. Perseverance has now collected 27 cores since landing in 2021. Future missions aim to return them to Earth for deeper laboratory tests.