NEED TO KNOW
Organic molecules described as the “building blocks of life” have been found on Mars, according to NASA
The findings were tied to a 2020 mission, during which a rover visited the Red Planet and brought back several drilled rocks
“It took dozens of scientists and engineers to locate this site, drill the sample, and make these discoveries with our awesome robot,” said one official
Organic molecules described as the “building blocks of life” were found on Mars , according to NASA.
On Tuesday, April 21, the space agency announced that the lab results from a 2020 mission were finally in— and that one of its Mars rovers brought back a rock that included the “most diverse collection of organic molecules ever found on the Red Planet.”
“Of the 21 carbon-containing molecules identified in the sample, seven of them were detected for the first time on Mars,” NASA added. “Scientists have no way of knowing whether these organic molecules were created by biologic or geologic processes — either path is possible — but their discovery renewed confirmation that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life.”
One of the newly found molecules is a nitrogen heterocycle, which, according to NASA, is a molecular structure that’s “considered a predecessor to RNA and DNA, two nucleic acids that are key to genetic information.”
“That detection is pretty profound because these structures can be chemical precursors to more complex nitrogen-bearing molecules,” said Amy Williams, the lead author of a new paper about the findings. “Nitrogen heterorcycles have never been found before on the Martian surface or confirmed in Martian meteorites.”
The rock sample that yielded the findings was nicknamed “Mary Anning 3” after an English paleontologist and was collected in an area known as Mount Sharp, a part of the planet that was once covered with bodies of water.
A photo of a region on Mars known as “Mount Sharp”
Credit: nasa.gov
The waterways dried up repeatedly throughout Mars’ history, causing clay to form. That clay helped preserve organic compounds like the carbon-containing molecules, according to the space agency.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“This is Curiosity and our team at their best. It took dozens of scientists and engineers to locate this site, drill the sample, and make these discoveries with our awesome robot,” said Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “This collection of organic molecules once again increases the prospect that Mars offered a home for life in the ancient past.”
Read the original article on People