Perseverance Finds Volcanic Rocks, Not Lakebed

NASA's Perseverance rover found that Jezero Crater's margin unit is igneous, not sedimentary, after examining 185 rocks across 870 feet. Water soaked the volcanic rocks at least three separate times, depositing carbonates that can preserve microbial traces. The findings, published in Communications Earth and Environment, reshape the search for ancient life, though NASA's Mars Sample Return funding was killed in January.