NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has detected its highest concentrations of organic molecules to date, in a possible signal of ancient microbes that scientists are eager to confirm when rock samples eventually reach Earth.
While organic matter has been found on the Red Planet before, the new discovery is considered particularly promising because it came from an area where sediments and salts had been deposited in a lake – conditions where life could have arisen.
“It’s very fair to say that these will be, these already are, the most valuable rock samples ever collected,” Perseverance return sample scientist David Schuster told reporters during a briefing.
Organic molecules—compounds composed primarily of carbon that usually include hydrogen and oxygen, but occasionally other elements—are not always created by biological processes.
Further analysis and conclusions will have to await the Mars Sample Return mission – a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to bring back the rocks set for 2033.
Nicknamed Percy, the rover landed in Mars’ Jezero crater in February 2021, tasked with storing samples that may contain signs of ancient life, as well as characterizing the planet’s geology and past climate.
The delta he explores was formed 3.5 billion years ago. The rover is currently there investigating sedimentary rocks, which came from particles of various sizes that settled in what was then an aquatic environment.
Percy cored two samples from a rock called “Wildcat Ridge,” which is about three feet (one meter) wide, and on July 20 scraped off part of its surface so it could be analyzed with an instrument called SHERLOC that uses ultraviolet light.
The results pointed to a class of organic molecules called aromatics, which play a key role in biochemistry.
“This is a treasure hunt for possible signs of life on another planet,” said NASA astrobiologist Sunanda Sharma.
“Organic matter is a clue, and we’re getting stronger clues…Personally, I find these results so exciting because I feel like we’re in the right place, with the right tools, at a very pivotal time.”
There have been other tantalizing clues about the possibility of life on Mars in the past, including repeated detections of methane by Perseverance’s predecessor, Curiosity.
While methane is a digestive byproduct of microbes here on Earth, it can also be created by geothermal reactions where no biology is present.
NASA’s Perseverance rover surveys the geologically rich terrain of Mars
© 2022 AFP
Report: Mars rover sees hints of past life in latest rock samples (2022, September 17) retrieved on September 17, 2022 by
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