A photomosaic taken by the Curiosity rover on April 30, 2023, at one drill site in Gale Crater, Mars. Rock powder samples drilled here contained substantial amounts of the iron carbonate mineral siderite.

In those drill sites, Curiosity detected deposits containing an iron carbonate material called siderite. According to Ben Tutolo, a University of Calgary associate professor of Earth, Energy, and Environment Studies as well as a NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team, the data marks a major moment in the search for extraterrestrial life.

A mineral called siderite found abundantly in rock drilled by a NASA rover on the surface of Mars is providing fresh evidence of the planet's warmer and wetter ancient past when it boasted substantial bodies of water and potentially harbored life.