ASU-led camera helps scout location with potential biosignatures on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered leopard spots on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars’ Jezero Crater in July 2024. Scientists think the spots may indicate that, billions of years ago, the chemical reactions in this rock could have supported microbial life; other explanations are being considered. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Arizona State University’s Mastcam-Z instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover has played a supporting role in new research from Jezero Crater indicating that sedimentary rocks in the “Bright Angel” formation preserve textures, minerals and organic signatures consistent with potential biosignatures.
“Our Mastcam-Z images were used to help figure out where to do the drilling and grinding into the rock. We helped scout the best places for the rover to drive and for the rover team to collect rock samples using the high-resolution and color capabilities of the images,” said Regents Professor Jim Bell at ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration. “Of course, geologists on the whole team were pouring over images of the area as well. Then, when we got closer to the outcrop that we took samples from, we acquired a close-up Mastcam-Z mosaic of the rover’s work area, to help guide the choice of exactly where to sample. The rest of the story comes from the up-close instruments (SHERLOC/WATSON and PIXL), which took the high-resolution microscope pictures and the detailed chemical and mineral data that form the basis for today’s NASA announcement.”
Mastcam-Z, a pair of zoomable, color science cameras designed and led by Principal Investigator Bell, delivered the outcrop-scale context and multispectral images and data to help guide where the up-close instruments on the rover would be deployed to drill, sample and abrade the Mars surface.
The study, published today in Nature, suggests that the Bright Angel mudstones and related rocks record a complex history of deposition by water and later chemical alteration, including iron-phosphate nodules and iron-sulfide phases that in some environments on Earth can be associated with microbial activity.
How Mastcam-Z supported the science
Geologic context at scale: Mastcam-Z produced high-resolution, multicolor mosaics of key outcrops (including “Cheyava Falls,” “Apollo Temple” and “Steamboat Mountain”), documenting layering, fractures, nodules and veins. These observations linked fine-scale instrument results to the broader stratigraphy of Neretva Vallis and the Margin Unit.
Multispectral fingerprints: Using visible to near-infrared filters, Mastcam-Z measured rock color and reflectance trends tied to mineralogy and oxidation state. Bright Angel targets ranged from red/tan (higher ferric iron) to whitish-gray (lower ferric iron) — patterns that helped differentiate units and prioritize analyses.
Oxidation state mapping: Mastcam-Z color data served as a proxy for iron oxidation. Less-oxidized mudstones coincided with stronger organic signals detected by other instruments, helping the team correlate potential biosignatures with local geochemistry.
Targeting and sample strategy: The imaging and spectral data informed where PIXL (X-ray), SHERLOC/WATSON (Raman/UV fluorescence and context imaging), SuperCam (laser spectroscopy) and RIMFAX (ground-penetrating radar) would investigate, culminating in the collection of the “Sapphire Canyon” core for potential return to Earth.
A coordinated payload effort
Mastcam-Z’s sharp eyes have been key to exploring Mars, connecting sweeping multicolor panoramas with close-up 3D stereo details that guide the rover to the most promising spots. Working side by side with the rover’s science and instrument teams, Mastcam-Z acts like a scout, helping researchers zero in on the places that tell Mars’ story best.
Together with its companion instruments, Mastcam-Z images helped to enable the discovery that the Bright Angel unit once formed in warmer, watery environments before undergoing slow chemical changes in cooler conditions. Both steps in that history add new pieces to the puzzle of Mars’ past habitability.
Looking ahead to sample return
Perseverance’s cache includes the “Sapphire Canyon” core from Bright Angel, selected with Mastcam-Z context. Once returned to Earth laboratories, these samples could yield high-confidence tests of hypotheses about the origins of the nodules, sulfides and organics; and whether biology played any role.
About Mastcam-Z
Mastcam-Z instrument was designed and led by Principal Investigator Jim Bell at Arizona State University. The instrument is a pair of next-generation science cameras on Perseverance’s remote sensing mast, or “head.” This pair of zoomable cameras can be used to shoot video and to create high-resolution, color stereo/3D panoramas of the Martian landscape in multiple colors, from the human RGB color range and into the near-infrared. These images also help rover operators drive the rover and position the rover’s arm instruments. Analysis of the landing site’s geology viewed in Mastcam-Z images is helping scientists determine the history of the landing site and rover traverse region.
Managed for NASA by Caltech, NASA JPL built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
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