Tag Archives: perseverance

Perseverance Uncovers Nickel-Rich Rocks on Mars: Insights into Early Martian Chemistry

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Exciting findings from the Neretva Canyon—a prehistoric river channel that once flowed to Mars’ Jezero Crater—uncover significant concentrations of nickel in 3 billion-year-old sediments. These patterns mirror mineral formations found on Earth, often linked to microbial activity.

Nickel detected in bright magnesium sulfate veins in Jezero Crater on Mars, supporting its genuine origin. Image credit: Manelski et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-70081-3.

“The Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater in February 2021 aimed at exploring ancient habitable environments and collecting core samples for future return to Earth during a planned Mars sample return mission,” stated Dr. Henry Manerski from Purdue University and his research team.

“Jezero is a Noachian impact crater, approximately 45 km in diameter, dating back 3.8 to 4 billion years, that once housed a lake, as supported by its two inlet valleys, delta fan formations, and an outlet valley on the eastern side.”

“Since its landing, Perseverance has traversed the igneous crater floor, ascended western alluvial fan deposits, crossed olivine- and carbonate-rich margins, and entered the western inlet valley known as the Neretva Valley.”

In their comprehensive study, Dr. Manerski and colleagues employed lasers, infrared spectrometers, and X-ray spectrometers onboard Perseverance to analyze 126 sedimentary rock samples and eight rock surfaces in the Neretva Valley.

They discovered nickel in 32 rocks at concentrations reaching up to 1.1% by weight, marking the highest level ever recorded in Martian rock.

The team noted that nickel tends to occur alongside iron sulfide compounds and sulfate minerals resulting from the breakdown of rocks such as jarosite and acanite.

Researchers drew parallels between the nickel-rich iron sulfide arrangements found in the Neretva Valley and the composition and structure of pyrite, an iron sulfide mineral observed in sedimentary rocks worldwide.

Iron sulfide found in Earth’s sedimentary rocks is predominantly produced by the anaerobic respiration of microorganisms that utilize sulfate in the presence of iron-rich minerals.

Previous investigations identified iron sulfide in the Neretva Valley, coinciding with organic carbon compounds and suggested these may have originated from biological sources.

“Although, such formations can also arise from non-biological processes,” the scientists noted.

“Our current research hasn’t provided evidence of any organisms being present.”

“Nickel is a vital element in the enzymes of many ancient archaeal and bacterial species, playing crucial roles in energy production, carbon fixation, and organic matter decomposition.”

“The identification of nickel-rich rocks implies that if life existed on early Mars, nickel was potentially available in forms usable by these organisms.”

“The nickel may stem from the breakdown of igneous rocks or from nickel-rich meteorites.”

“More research is essential to pinpoint the source of nickel in the Neretva Gorge and to examine its relationship with organic matter at this location.”

Results from this study were published in this week’s issue of Nature Communications.

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HT Manerski et al. 2026. Strong nickel enrichment coexists with redox and organic interactions in Neretva Canyon on Mars. Nat Commun 17, 2705; doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-70081-3

Source: www.sci.news

Perseverance Identifies Triboelectric Discharges Between Martian Dust Devils and Storms

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Over two years of data collected on Mars by the SuperCam microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover has led planetary scientists to identify 55 triboelectric discharge events linked to dust devils and dust storms.

Detection of electrical discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicholas Sarter.

Lightning and electrical phenomena have been observed on Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter within our solar system.

While the possibility of electrical activity on Mars has been hypothesized, it has never before been directly recorded.

The Martian surface, characterized by frequent dust activities and phenomena such as wind-driven dust, sandstorms, and dust devils, can lead to electrical charges similar to those seen on Earth.

Determining whether such electrification occurs on Mars is vital for understanding the planet’s surface chemistry and assessing the safety of future robotic and human exploration missions.

To investigate this, Baptiste Chide and colleagues from the University of Toulouse examined 28 hours of audio recordings from the Perseverance rover’s SuperCam microphone gathered over two years.

The researchers categorized 55 electrical events by detecting interference and acoustic signatures typical of lightning.

Notably, 54 of these events were linked to the strongest wind events recorded during the study, indicating that winds significantly contribute to Martian electrification.

In two encounters with dust devils alone, the spacecraft documented 16 events, suggesting the likelihood of additional, more distant discharges that may have escaped detection by the microphone.

These findings imply that the Martian atmosphere is particularly electrically active during localized dust activity, rather than during wider dusty seasons.

“On Earth, atmospheric electricity primarily results from charge accumulation in clouds and storms, which burst forth as lightning,” remarked Dr. Ricardo Hueso from the University of the Basque Country.

“Conversely, on Mars, atmospheric electricity is dry, generated through collisions between dust particles in whirlwinds and sandstorms, leading to much smaller electrical discharges compared to Earth.”

Dr. Agustín Sánchez Labega, also from the University of the Basque Country, noted: “Mars’ cold, dry, dusty environment features a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide and can generate very strong winds, creating gusts, whirlwinds, and dust clouds.”

“These phenomena can form extensive storm fronts that stretch hundreds of kilometers and sometimes envelop the entire planet in dust.”

“Thus, we anticipate these once-elusive discharges to be particularly prevalent under such conditions.”

The authors concluded, “Our study raises many questions regarding the impact of natural electricity on the Martian atmosphere.”

For more details, check their paper, published in the Journal on November 26, 2025, in Nature.

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B. Chide et al. 2025. Triboelectric discharges detected during Martian dust events. Nature 647, 865-869; doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09736-y

Source: www.sci.news

Perseverance Watches Phobos, One of Mars’ Moons, Crossing in Front of the Sun

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NASA’s Perseverance rover will pass in front of the sun on September 30, 2024, the 1,285th Martian day (Sol) since the start of its mission. I captured the silhouette of Phobos inside.

Perseverance captured the silhouette of Phobos passing in front of the Sun on September 30, 2024. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.

Phobos was discovered in 1877 by the American astronomer Asaph Hall, along with its smaller cousin Deimos.

It orbits approximately 6,000 km (3,700 miles) from the surface of Mars, completing one orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes.

Phobos orbits so close to the surface of Mars that the planet’s curvature makes it difficult to see from observers standing at Mars’ polar regions.

Its orbital period is approximately three times the planet’s rotation period, and when viewed from Mars, it rises in the west and sets in the east, an unusual result for a natural satellite.

Phobos measures 26 x 22 x 18 km (16.2 x 13.7 x 11.2 miles) and has a very rugged appearance. There are also impact craters and grooves on the surface.

“Perseverance recently spotted a ‘googly eye’ peering out from space from its perch on the western wall of Jezero Crater on Mars,” NASA scientists said in a statement.

“The pupil of this celestial gaze is Mars’ moon Phobos, and the iris is our sun.”

The event, captured by the Mastcam-Z spacecraft on September 30, occurred as Phobos passed directly between the Sun and a point on the surface of Mars, obscuring most of the Sun’s disk. .

At the same time that Phobos appeared as a large black disk moving rapidly across the surface of the Sun, its shadow, or foreshadow, moved across the planet’s surface.

“Due to its fast orbit, passages through Phobos typically last only about 30 seconds,” the researchers said.

This isn’t the first time a NASA spacecraft has seen Phobos blocking the sun’s rays.

Perseverance has captured multiple passes of the small moon since landing in Mars’ Jezero Crater in February 2021.

Curiosity shot the video in 2019. Opportunity captured the image in 2004.

“By comparing different images, we can improve our understanding of the moon’s orbit and learn how it is changing,” the scientists said.

“Phobos is moving closer to Mars and is predicted to collide with Mars within about 50 million years.”

Source: www.sci.news