NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Discover Fascinating Mars Rock: Cheyava Falls

The scientific team behind NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently examining a unique Martian rock named “Cheyava Falls.” This arrowhead-shaped rock has unique features that might reveal clues about ancient, microscopic life on Mars.

Scientists using Perseverance’s instruments have analyzed Cheyava Falls and found it might indicate ancient life. The rock shows chemical signatures and structures that could have come from life forms billions of years ago when the area was covered in flowing water. 

Although the team is exploring alternative explanations for these features, more research is needed to determine if ancient life is a possible cause.

Collected on July 21, Cheyava Falls is the 22nd rock core sample taken by the rover. It was discovered while Perseverance was exploring the northern edge of Neretva Vallis, an ancient river valley about a quarter-mile (400 meters) wide, carved by water that once flowed into Jezero Crater.

Scientific Significance

“We have designed the route for Perseverance to ensure that it goes to areas with the potential for interesting scientific samples,” stated Nicola Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 

“This trip through the Neretva Vallis riverbed paid off as we found something we’ve never seen before, which will give our scientists so much to study.”

Perseverance’s SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) instrument has repeatedly scanned Cheyava Falls and detected organic compounds. These carbon-based molecules are crucial for life but can also originate from non-biological processes.

The Formation of Cheyava Falls

Perseverance’s mission to find signs of ancient microbial life has directed the team to study rocks that may have been formed or altered by water long ago. This search has brought them to Cheyava Falls.

“This is the kind of key observation that SHERLOC was built for. To seek organic matter as it is an essential component of a search for past life,” said SHERLOC’s principal investigator, Kevin Hand of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the man responsible for managing the mission.

Cheyava Falls features large white calcium sulfate veins interspersed with bands of reddish material, indicating the presence of hematite, a mineral responsible for Mars’ rusty hue.

Upon closer examination of these red areas, Perseverance found dozens of irregularly shaped, millimeter-sized off-white spots, each surrounded by black material resembling leopard spots. The rover’s PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) instrument determined that these black halos contain iron and phosphate.