Curiosity finds building blocks of life on Mars
( NewsNation ) — NASA’s Curiosity rover has found a mix of organic materials on Mars that include chemicals considered to be the building blocks for life.
It’s the first time a new kind of chemical experiment has been performed on Mars, with researchers publishing their results in the journal Nature Communications .
Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, and has been probing areas including the Gale crater and Mount Sharp.
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Scientists believe the Torridon region of the Gale crater could have supported conditions favorable to supporting ancient life , if any such life ever existed on the red planet.
Curiosity used its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars instruments to search for compounds of carbon associated with life and investigate how those compounds are generated and destroyed on Mars.
Curiosity was able to identify chemicals, including nitrogen and sulfur-bearing molecules , in the clay-rich sandstone of the region.
However, the experiment isn’t able to definitively determine whether the chemicals come from geological processes or ancient Martian life .
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“We propose that this suite of organics represents TMAH thermochemolysis breakdown products from ancient organic macromolecular material that has been preserved in billions-of-years-old sedimentary rocks in Gale crater,” explains the research paper.
Researchers also say the findings aligned with findings from the Mars Perseverance rover , providing evidence for potential organic matter preserved in different locations.
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