Washington DC, Oct. 1 -- A new study suggests a habitable past and signs of ancient microbial processes on Mars -- and Imperial scientists provided crucial context.

Led by NASA and featuring key analysis from Imperial College London, the work has uncovered a range of minerals and organic matter in Martian rocks that point to an ancient history of habitable conditions and potential biological processes on the Red Planet.

An international team, including researchers from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) at Imperial, propose that these geological features within the so-called Bright Angel formation in Mars's Jezero Crater are closely connected to organic carbon, and could be a compelling potential biosignature of past ...