Perseverance Detects Corundum in 3 Mars Rocks, Pointing to Ruby-Like Minerals at Jezero Crater
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 13
Perseverance Detects Corundum in 3 Mars Rocks, Pointing to Ruby-Like Minerals at Jezero Crater
3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 13
Summary
Three pale float rocks examined by NASA’s Perseverance in Jezero Crater showed the first confirmed Martian signatures of chromium-bearing corundum, the mineral family that includes rubies and sapphires.
Laser spectroscopy in March, April and July 2025 found matching luminescence peaks at 692.7 and 694.1 nanometers, and one sample glowed for about 3 milliseconds—consistent with terrestrial corundum.
The finding is puzzling because corundum usually forms in aluminum-rich, silicon-poor settings, yet all three detections came from plagioclase-rich rocks where silicon-bearing minerals would normally tie up the aluminum.
Researchers say a giant impact that formed Jezero Crater, possibly aided by hydrothermal fluids, is the leading explanation, though magma-related origins have not been ruled out.
Because the rocks are loose fragments rather than bedrock, the team says tracing their source—or returning a core sample to Earth—would be key to explaining how the mineral formed and what it reveals about Mars’s history.