NASA rover finds evidence of carbon-based chemistry in Martian crater

Date:
Thu, 13 Jul 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Description:
This image of NASAs Perseverance Mars rover at the rim of Belva Crater was taken by the agencys Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during the rotorcrafts 51st flight on April 22, 2023, the 772nd Martian day, or sol, of the rovers mission. At the time the image was taken, the helicopter was at an altitude
of about 40 feet. NASA/JPL-Caltech The Red Planet may be home to a much more complex geochemical cycle than originally suspected. The post NASA rover
finds evidence of carbon-based chemistry in Martian crater appeared first on Popular Science .

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This image of NASAs Perseverance Mars rover at the rim of Belva Crater was taken by the agencys Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during the rotorcrafts 51st flight on April 22, 2023, the 772nd Martian day, or sol, of the rovers mission. At the time the image was taken, the helicopter was at an altitude
of about 40 feet. NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASAs Perseverance rover has detected evidence for an array of different organic molecules in Mars Jezero Crater . The findings are detailed in a
paper published July 12 in the journal Nature . This latest discovery
suggests that a more complex geochemical cycle may have existed on the Red Planet. Its not direct evidence of living things on that world, but it shows that the planet had mineral processes like those on Earth that support life.

[Related: Marss barren Jezero crater had a wet and dramatic past .]

The Perseverance rover landed at Jezero Crater in February 2021 , where the remains of an ancient Martian lake basin holds clays that may preserve
organic materialsand could provide clues regarding the planets past habitability. The rover has already found evidence of past chemical reactions in the crater that could hold more clues to former Martian life.

Organic compounds are the building blocks of life. They are molecules
composed of the element carbon and often have other elements such as
nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Several types of organic molecules of Martian origin have been detected in meteorites that blasted
away from Mars and landed on Earth, and in Mars Gale Crater.

The researchers believe that explanations for the origins of organic matter
on the Red Planet include water-rock interactions or deposits on the surface of the planet through space dusts or meteors. The teamnotes that the key building blocks for life may have been present over an extended period of time, making this area of Jezero crater potentially habitable.The study authors also acknowledge that clusters of other compounds could be
responsible for some of the rovers detections, though an inorganic
explanation for these signals is less likely than carbon-based chemistry.

As planetary scientists and astrobiologists, we are very careful with laying out claimsclaiming that life is the source of organics or possible biosignatures is a last-resort hypothesis, meaning we would need to rule out any non-biological source of origin, study co-author and CalTech planetary scientist Sunanda Sharma told Space.com .

For this study, the team analyzed data from the Perseverance Rovers Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument . It is a crucial tool on Mars that can conduct fine-scale mapping and analysis of organic molecules.

The team honed in on SHERLOC data on two rock formations on Jezero Craters floorMaz and Stah. When SHERLOCs ultraviolet light shines on organic compounds, they can glow. Measuring the wavelengths in the glow from a molecule can help identify what molecule it is.

Signals of organic molecules were detected on all 10 of the targets that SHERLOC observed , which covers a span of time from at least 2.3 billion to 2.6 billion years ago. Even if this material is not really biological in origin, it may still give scientists important clues about whether or not
Mars was formerly able to host life.

[Related: Mars rover snaps pics of dusty craters that may have once roared with water .]

This finding may indicate that Mars once had diverse surface processes and relatively complex organic geochemistry, which on Earth, such mineralogy is associated with habitable environments capable of preserving signs of ancient life, study co-author and Planetary Science Institute researcher Ashley E. Murphy said in a statement.

Murphy also added that studying the spatial relationships between minerals
and organics is critical when examining organic origins and potential biosignatures . Using Earths geologic history as a reference point will help determine what, if anything, could have lived on Mars in the past.

Mars may have had a similar early geologic history to Earth so we use our knowledge of life as we know it on Earth for where to look for potential evidence of past life on Mars, said Murphy. Mapping organics allows for a better understanding of if the Martian carbon cycle is similar to or
different from Earth, and the potential of Mars to host life.

The post NASA rover finds evidence of carbon-based chemistry in Martian
crater appeared first on Popular Science . Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made.



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Link to news story: https://www.popsci.com/science/perseverance-rover-organic-matter-mars/


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