Could Mars have once hosted life? NASA's Perseverance rover has uncovered a tantalizing clue, but scientists remain divided on what it truly means for the search for extraterrestrial life.

NASA's Perseverance rover is digging deeper into Mars' geologic past as it begins grinding into rock surfaces to expose material that could hold clues to the planet's ancient environment and ...

Organic chemicals, primarily composed of carbon and hydrogen, underly all of life. They're also widespread in the Universe, so they can't be taken as a clear signature of the presence of life.

For some background, Perseverance made the find using an advanced instrument called SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals), which is ...