Possible organic compounds found in Mars crater rocks

Jezero crater. Credit: NASA - Rock samples from the Jezero crater analysed by the Perseverance rover show evidence of liquid water and signatures that could be organic compounds. A study published in Science analyses multiple rocks found at the bottom of Jezero Crater on Mars, where the Perseverance rover landed in 2020, revealing significant interaction between the rocks and liquid water. Those rocks also contain evidence consistent with the presence of organic compounds. I hope that one day these samples could be returned to Earth so that we can explore whether conditions were right for life in the early history of Mars. Professor Mark Sephton - The existence of organic compounds (chemical compounds with carbon-hydrogen bonds) is not direct evidence of life, as these compounds can be created through nonbiological processes. A future mission returning the samples to Earth would be needed to determine this.