“Perseverance landed in Jezero crater, Mars, in February 2021 with the objective of looking for ancient habitable environments and gathering cored samples for ultimate go back to Earth as part of a future Mars Sample Return objective,” stated Purdue University’s Dr. Henry Manelski and his coworkers.

“Jezero is a 45-km-diameter Noachian (3.8-4 billion years ago) effect crater that as soon as hosted a lake, as evidenced by 2 inlet valleys, their associated fluvio-deltaic fans, and an outlet valley on the eastern edge of the crater.”

“Since landing, the rover has actually passed through the igneous crater flooring, rose onto the western fan deposit, crossed the olivine- and carbonate-rich Margin Unit, and participated in the western inlet valley called Neretva Vallis.”

In their research study, Dr. Manelski and co-authors utilized a laser, infrared spectrometers, and an X-ray spectrometer on Perseverance to analyze 126 sedimentary rocks and 8 rock surface areas in Neretva Vallis.

They spotted nickel in 32 rocks in concentrations approximately 1.1% of their weight– the greatest abundance observed in Martian bedrock to date.

They observed that nickel tended to co-occur with iron sulfide substances and with sulfate minerals produced from the breakdown of these rocks, such as jarosite and akaganeite.

The scientists determined resemblances in between the chemical structure and shape of the nickel-rich iron sulfide plans in Neretva Vallis and those of pyrite– an iron sulfide mineral– in sedimentary rocks in the world.

Iron sulfides in sedimentary rocks in the world are mainly formed from microbial anaerobic respiration utilizing sulfates in the existence of iron-containing minerals.

Previous research studies have actually spotted iron sulfides in Neretva Vallis in the existence of natural carbon substances and it has actually been proposed that these substances might have been formed by living organisms.

“However, they might likewise arise from responses that do not include living organisms,” the researchers stated.

“Our present research study does not supply proof of such organisms.”

“Nickel is a necessary part of enzymes in lots of ancient archaea and bacterial types and is needed for some chemical paths utilized in energy generation, carbon fixation, and raw material decay.”

“The existence of nickel-rich rocks shows that, if living organisms had actually existed on early Mars, nickel might have been readily available in a kind that they might have utilized.”

“Nickel might have stemmed from the breakdown of igneous rocks or from a nickel-rich meteorite.”

“Further research study is required to identify the source of nickel in Neretva Vallis and to examine possible connections in between it and raw material in this place.”

The research study was released today in the journal Nature Communications

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H.T. Manelski et al2026. Strong nickel enrichment co-located with redox-organic interactions in Neretva Vallis, Mars. Nat Commun 17, 2705; doi: 10.1038/ s41467-026-70081-3