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The discovery adds to a growing collection of evidence that the planet once had the right conditions for life \u2013 even though there is still no proof it ever existed.<\/p>\n
Mars rock preserves organic clues<\/p>\n
It started with a rock that Curiosity drilled in 2020. The sample, called Mary Anning 3, came from the lower slopes of Mount Sharp \u2013 a place that once held lakes<\/a> and streams. <\/p>\n Water came and went over time, leaving its mark on the landscape. That cycle left behind clay-rich layers. <\/p>\n Clay has a special ability. It can trap and protect organic molecules, even under harsh conditions.<\/p>\n On Mars, that matters. The planet\u2019s surface has been exposed to radiation<\/a> for billions of years, which tends to break down complex molecules.<\/p>\n Despite that, this one rock on Mars held 21 different carbon-containing molecules. Seven of them had never been detected on Mars before.<\/p>\n Rare molecules found on Mars<\/p>\n Among the new molecules, one stood out. It is called a nitrogen heterocycle. This structure includes a ring of carbon atoms with nitrogen mixed in.<\/p>\n On Earth, similar structures play a role in forming RNA and DNA \u2013 the molecules that carry genetic information.<\/p>\n \u201cThat detection is pretty profound because these structures can be chemical precursors to more complex nitrogen-bearing molecules,\u201d said the study\u2019s lead author, Amy Williams, of the University of Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNitrogen heterocycles have never been found before on the Martian surface or confirmed in Martian meteorites.\u201d<\/p>\n Another molecule, benzothiophene, also caught attention. It contains both carbon and sulfur and has been found in meteorites.<\/p>\n Some scientists think meteorites like these may have helped spread the ingredients for early chemistry across the solar system.<\/p>\n Curiosity carries its own lab<\/p>\n Curiosity isn\u2019t just a rover. It carries a compact laboratory inside it, known as Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM. This system can heat rock samples and study the gases they release.<\/p>\n The rover<\/a> drills into a rock, turns it into powder, and feeds it into SAM. Inside, an oven heats the material. <\/p>\n As the sample warms up, it releases gases. Instruments then analyze those gases to figure out what molecules were present.<\/p>\n SAM can also run a more complex test called wet chemistry. In this case, the sample is mixed with a liquid solution. <\/p>\n For this study, scientists used a powerful chemical called tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH).<\/p>\n It helps break apart larger molecules into smaller, easier-to-detect pieces. The Mary Anning 3 sample was the first on Mars to be tested this way.<\/p>\n Comparing Mars and meteorites<\/p>\n To make sure the results made sense, researchers ran the same process on a well-known meteorite found on Earth. <\/p>\n This meteorite, called Murchison, is over 4 billion years old and packed with organic compounds.<\/p>\n When treated with TMAH, the meteorite released molecules similar to those seen in the Martian sample<\/a>, including benzothiophene. <\/p>\n That result suggests something important. The molecules detected on Mars may have come from the breakdown of even larger, more complex compounds.<\/p>\n In other words, Mars might hold deeper chemical layers that scientists have not yet fully uncovered.<\/p>\n Why this matters for life on Mars<\/p>\n The discovery does not prove that life existed on Mars. Scientists are clear about that. These molecules can form through both biological and non-biological processes.<\/p>\n Still, the findings strengthen the case that ancient Mars<\/a> had the right chemistry. Water was present. Organic molecules existed. Some of them survived for billions of years despite radiation exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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,\u201d said Ashwin Vasavada of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory<\/a>. <\/p>\n He added, \u201cThis collection of organic molecules once again increases the prospect that Mars offered a home for life in the ancient past.\u201d<\/p>\n Preparing for the next Mars tests<\/p>\n Getting this kind of data from Mars is not easy. Engineers had to shrink full lab systems into something small enough to fit inside a rover. <\/p>\n They also had to design it to run on limited power while handling complex chemistry.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a feat just figuring out how to conduct this kind of chemistry for the first time on Mars,\u201d said Charles Malespin of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a>. \u201cBut now that we\u2019ve had some practice, we\u2019re prepared to run similar experiments on future missions<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n That next step is already underway. A next-generation version of SAM will fly on the European Space Agency\u2019s Rosalind Franklin rover. <\/p>\n Another similar instrument will head to Saturn\u2019s moon Titan aboard NASA\u2019s Dragonfly mission.<\/p>\n Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI)<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mars has always looked like a harsh, lifeless place. Dust storms sweep across it, and radiation hits the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-405097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}