NASA’s Perseverance rover has made a surprising discovery on Mars. At an outcrop in Jezero Crater, the rover detected complex macromolecular carbon sitting right on the surface of a rock called Bright Angel. This is the shallowest detection of organic matter on the Martian surface to date.

The discovery was made using SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals), which identified a spectroscopic signature known as the graphitic band, indicating the presence of carbon-rich material. This carbon could hint at biological activity on Mars billions of years ago, but its origin remains uncertain.

“To our knowledge, that’s the shallowest detection of organic matter on Martian surface to date,” said Ashley E. Murphy from the Planetary Institute in Tucson, Arizona. The term ‘kerogen’ was avoided by the researchers because it implies a biological origin, which is not confirmed for this material.

While these findings could shed light on past life on Mars, scientists may need to bring samples back to Earth for further analysis. Until then, the mystery of Martian carbon remains. The rover will continue to explore and uncover more secrets hidden in plain sight.