"NASA's Curiosity rover has turned up some tantalizing new data adding to the case for life on Mars or at least offering more hope that we might find some. The new findings come from a bit of rock that Curiosity analyzed way back in 2020, which held 21 different carbon-containing molecules, the most diverse collection of Martian organic molecules ever found."
"Seven of those molecules had never even been detected on Mars before, including nitrogen heterocycles, which are considered to be precursors to RNA and DNA. Finding organic molecules is promising because these represent some of the basic building blocks that make life as we know it possible."
"The bedrock is estimated to date back about 3.5 billion years, around when Mars had liquid water on its surface. The fact that Curiosity got any chemistry results at all is very exciting."
NASA's Curiosity rover discovered 21 different carbon-containing molecules in a Martian rock sample, the most diverse collection found to date. Seven of these molecules had never been detected on Mars before, including nitrogen heterocycles, which are precursors to RNA and DNA. The rock, analyzed in 2020, is estimated to be around 3.5 billion years old, dating back to when Mars had liquid water. While the presence of organic molecules is promising, it does not confirm that life evolved on Mars.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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