Perseverance Discovers Light‑Toned Gabbro Boulders in Lac de Charmes, Hinting at Ancient Impact Processes

On Sol 1965 (August 30, 2026), NASA’s Perseverance rover captured images of a field of light‑colored boulders on the hillside of Lac de Charmes, beyond Jezero crater’s western rim. Initial analyses indicate many of the rocks are gabbro, an iron‑ and magnesium‑rich igneous rock that typically forms deep in the crust. The rover is now examining a nearby breccia outcrop at Idubi, where angular fragments of light and dark rock suggest a violent fracturing event. Such breccias on Mars have previously been linked to asteroid impacts, raising the possibility that the Jezero impact or a similar event excavated these deep fragments to the surface.