{"id":529263,"date":"2026-07-07T08:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T08:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/529263\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T08:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T08:55:14","slug":"nasa-rover-takes-a-closer-look-at-organic-carbon-on-mars-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/529263\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA rover takes a closer look at organic carbon on Mars – World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover, scientists are getting a greater understanding of the nature of some of the organic carbon \u2014 the molecular backbone for all known \u200bliving organisms \u2014 detected on Mars as they explore the question of whether Earth\u2019s planetary neighbour ever harboured life.<\/p>\n

New research describes the structure of the organic carbon \u200cfound last year<\/a> by the rover in sedimentary rock that contained a potential biosignature \u2014 a possible sign of past microbial life. This mudstone formed perhaps between 3.2 and 3.8 billion years ago beneath a now-vanished body of water in Jezero Crater in the Martian northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n

Organic carbon can be a clue as to whether Mars ever harboured life because it serves as the chemical underpinning for the molecules that build DNA, cells \u200band proteins. But its presence is not proof of life because it also can arise in nonbiological processes such as chemical interaction between rock and water.<\/p>\n

The detection of \u200borganic carbon in two rocks in Jezero Crater \u2014 given the names Cheyava Falls and Walhalla Glades \u2014 was disclosed last year when the researchers \u2060announced the discovery of a potential biosignature in one of them.<\/p>\n

The two rocks were sampled by the rover at locations about 330 feet (100 meters) apart, according to planetary scientist Ashley \u200bMurphy of the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona, co-leader of the new research published in the journal Science Advances<\/p>\n

Following last year\u2019s discovery, NASA released an image of the Cheyava Falls rock showing a \u200bvery fine-grained and rusty-red-colored mudstone bearing ring-shaped features resembling leopard spots as well as dark marks resembling poppy seeds.<\/p>\n

Such features on Earth can be associated with microbial activity. A potential biosignature is defined as a substance or structure that may have a biological origin but needs more data or further study before a conclusion can be made about the absence or presence of life.<\/p>\n

A closer look for signs of life<\/p>\n

Using \u200bPerseverance\u2019s SHERLOC instrument, the researchers in the new study took a closer look at the complex carbon, called macromolecular carbon, present in the two rocks. They said this carbon bears \u200bsimilarities to carbon formed either through biotic or abiotic processes on Earth and to carbon formed through abiotic processes found in meteorites.<\/p>\n

This marks the first instance of macromolecular carbon being discovered in mudstones in \u200cJezero Crater, \u2060where Perseverance landed in 2021. NASA\u2019s other rover operating on Mars, called Curiosity, previously found macromolecular carbon at another site called Gale Crater, located about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings indicate that the habitability of Mars and the availability of organic materials may have been widespread across the planet billions of years ago,\u201d said planetary scientist Kyle Uckert of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and a co-leader of the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis strengthens evidence that ancient Mars had chemical ingredients and environmental conditions that could have supported life, but does not provide proof of life, nor \u200bdoes it push the needle any further towards \u200bbiotic or abiotic origins,\u201d Uckert said.<\/p>\n

The \u2060rover\u2019s instruments do not have the capability to determine whether this carbon arose through biological processes possibly involving microbial activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need the return of these samples to Earth for more rigorous testing with higher sensitivity and higher resolution laboratory instruments,\u201d Uckert said.<\/p>\n

Now cold and desolate, Mars, during \u200bperhaps the first third of its existence, possessed a thicker atmosphere and warmer climate, allowing for liquid water on its surface. \u200bLike Earth and the solar \u2060system\u2019s other planets, Mars formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago.<\/p>\n

Water is considered a key ingredient for life \u2014 an important reason why Perseverance has been exploring Jezero Crater since 2021. This area of Mars once was flooded with water and home to an ancient lake basin. Scientists believe river channels spilt over the crater wall and created a lake. These bodies of water potentially could have \u2060been habitats for \u200bmicrobes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only place in the universe where we know life has emerged is Earth,\u201d Uckert said. \u201cIf life is \u200bdiscovered on Mars, it could indicate that the emergence of life is not restricted to Earth, assuming the right conditions and ingredients are available, which would be a profound discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Using NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover, scientists are getting a greater understanding of the nature of some of the organic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[85,46,141,145],"class_list":["post-529263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}