In addition to drilling rock core samples, the science team has been grinding its way into rocks to make sense of the scientific evidence hiding just below the surface.
SHERLOC
Posted inImaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Improving Spectroscopic Detection Limits with Multi-Pixel Signal-to-Noise Ratio Calculations: Application to the SHERLOC Instrument aboard the Perseverance Rover
Background The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover is a deep ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence instrument used for organic […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Life Support Systems, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Space Physiology & Medicine
Away Team Tech: How Perseverance Is Helping Prepare Astronauts for Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars in 2021 to search for signs of ancient microbial life and to help scientists understand the planet’s climate and geography. But another key objective […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Navigating A Slanted River On Mars
Perseverance is hard at work on Mars, overcoming obstacles for scientific exploration! Just a few sols after successfully sealing the challenging Green Gardens core, Perseverance roved on to the Broom […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
New Ways To Use Droid Tools That Are Already On Mars
The Perseverance team is always looking for creative ways to use the tools we have on Mars to maximize the science we do. On the arm of the rover sits […]
![(A) X-ray fluorescence composite map. Red color shows P abundance, green shows Mg abundance, and blue shows Si abundance. White circles outline areas analyzed by ACRONM. White arrows indicate matrix and clasts that contain nanometer-to-micrometer scale phosphate detectable by EDX-TEM only [shown in (B)].](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Inorganic-Interpretation-of-Luminescent.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Inorganic Interpretation of Luminescent Materials Encountered by the Perseverance Rover on Mars
A major objective of the Mars 2020 mission is to sample rocks in Jezero crater that may preserve organic matter for later return to Earth.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Mars Perseverance Rover Observes Red Rocks With Green Spots at Serpentine Rapids – Possible Biosignatures?
Editor’s note: I will make this simple: did NASA find evidence of life on Mars? No. Did NASA find an interesting rock feature that might signal or indicate that there […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Status Report
Investigating The Stability of Aromatic Carboxylic Acids in Hydrated Magnesium Sulfate under UV Irradiation to Assist Detection of Organics on Mars
The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover detected so far some of the most intense fluorescence signals […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Rocks from Mars’ Jezero Crater, Which Likely Predate Life On Earth, Contain Signs Of Water
In a new study appearing today in the journal AGU Advances, scientists at MIT and NASA report that seven rock samples collected along the “fan front” of Mars’ Jezero Crater […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return
Mars Perseverance Rover Imagery Of A Rock With Possible Biosignatures
Editor’s note: I will make this simple: did NASA find evidence of life on Mars? No. Did NASA find an interesting rock feature that might signal or indicate that there […]