Life on Mars? NASA’s Perseverance rover discovers diverse organic matter on the Red Planet
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Life on Mars? NASA’s Perseverance rover discovers diverse organic material on the Red Planet
- NASA’s Perseverance has detected organic compounds in the Jezero crater on Mars
- It suggests a more complex system than previously thought
Organic molecules have once again been found on the surface of Mars, which could give scientists new clues about whether life ever existed on the Red Planet.
Similar molecules containing mainly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur have previously been detected in meteorites on Mars and in the planet’s Gale crater.
Now, NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected organic compounds in the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater, an ancient lake basin with “high potential” for past habitability.
The findings suggest that a more complex system may have existed in the past than previously thought.
By learning more about this organic matter, experts can find out if there ever was life on Mars.
Organic molecules have once again been found on the surface of Mars, which could give scientists new clues about whether life ever existed on the Red Planet
By learning more about this organic matter, experts can find out if there ever was life on Mars
But the finding doesn’t immediately point to the existence of life.
These molecules are associated with life and biological processes, but can also be created by non-biological processes.
The team led by researchers at the California Institute of Technology reported their discovery in the journal Nature.
They said there could be a number of explanations for the origin of the organic matter, including interactions between water and rock, or deposition from interplanetary dust or meteors.
Biotic origin – derived from living organisms – is not discounted.
They wrote: ‘The presence and distribution of preserved organic material on the surface of Mars may provide important information about the Martian carbon cycle and the planet’s potential to host life throughout history.
“Our findings suggest that there may be a diversity of aromatic molecules present on the surface of Mars, and these materials persist despite exposure to surface conditions.
“These potential organic molecules are largely found in minerals linked to aqueous processes, indicating that these processes may have played a key role in organic synthesis, transport or conservation.”
Perseverance landed in February 2021 in the Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake basin with great potential for past habitability
Perseverance made landfall in February 2021 in the Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake basin with great potential for past habitability.
Since then, scientists have investigated the geological composition of the crater floor using a suite of tools aboard the rover that can take pictures of and analyze the rocks.
The team said samples should be returned to Earth for analysis in the lab to confirm the origin of the molecules.
Dr. Joseph Razzell Hollis, co-author of the paper and Research Fellow at the Natural History Museum, said: ‘We can’t identify specific organic molecules from the data so far, but by finding samples that may contain organics, we’re marking them as very interesting for further research and Perseverance has stored several samples that will hopefully be returned to Earth for more detailed analysis.”
‘We also see a wide variety of different signals in Jezero, which is surprising and exciting because it suggests that a wide variety of organics could have existed in the Jezero crater billions of years ago.
“While we still can’t say for sure whether Mars was habitable at the time, astrobiologists believe that the presence of varied organic matter is incredibly important to the potential for a planet or environment to host life.”