NASA rover takes a closer look at organic carbon on Mars

Using NASA’s Perseverance rover, scientists are getting a greater understanding of the nature of some of the organic carbon — the molecular backbone for all known ​living organisms — detected on Mars as they explore the question of whether Earth’s planetary neighbor ever harbored life.

New research describes the structure of the organic carbon ‌found last year by the rover in sedimentary rock that contained a potential biosignature — a possible sign of past microbial life. This mudstone formed...