An image taken by NASA's Perseverance rover that shows "leopard spots" on a reddish rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" in Mars' Jerezo Crater in July 2024

An image taken by NASA's Perseverance rover that shows "leopard spots" on a reddish rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" in Mars' Jerezo Crater in July 2024

Colorful, speckled rocks found on the surface of Mars have offered among the most encouraging evidence yet of ancient life on our neighboring planet, scientists at NASA announced Wednesday.

The Perseverance Mars rover collected the "Sapphire Canyon" rock samples in July 2024 from what's thought to be an ancient lakebed, and its poppyseed and leopard-esque spots pointed to potential chemical reactions that piqued the interest of researchers.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.