Arizona rock could aid search for life on Mars.

The article focuses on the discovery of a terrestrial basalt rock by materials scientist Nicholas Heinz, which resembles a Martian rock named Cheyava Falls that may indicate ancient life. Heinz, who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, found the basalt while hiking in Sedona, Arizona, and later realized it could serve as a model for studying the Martian sample. The Perseverance rover identified organic compounds in Cheyava Falls, and Heinz has been testing a new rock characterization technique called optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy (O-PTIR) that could provide insights into the chemical composition of both rocks. This technique may enhance the understanding of potential biological origins in extraterrestrial samples, although future missions to retrieve Martian samples face funding challenges. [Extracted from the article]