In July 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover extracted a rock core from the edge of Neretva Vallis, a river valley cut into the Martian surface by water rushing into the Jezero Crater billions of years ago. This mysterious rock caught the attention of scientists on Earth, as its features may reveal clues about possible ancient life on the Red Planet.

Unusual rocks discovered on Mars contain the most tantalising evidence yet of potential past life on the Red Planet. The mudstones, found in a dusty riverbed by Nasa's Perseverance Rover, are dotted with intriguing markings nicknamed leopard spots and poppy seeds.