Ancient Martian rock reveals largest detected lengths of carbon molecules to Curiosity rover, dating back approximately 3.7 billion years.
Get the scoop on the longest molecules found on the Red Planet - a game-changer conference's heading for this latest Mars discovery!
NASA's trusty Curiosity rover dug up Martian secrets that could hint at billions of years of ancient life existence. It's a captivating tale, with an exciting twist that'll get your science senses tingling.
The Mars molecules, composed of up to twelve carbon atoms linked together, were discovered in a whopping 3.7-billion-year-old rock sample collected from a long-gone Martian lakebed named Yellowknife Bay. Smacking of biological activity, these long carbon chains are thought to have originated from molecules called fatty acids.
Co-author of the study, Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, shared a fascinating perspective: "If life ever existed on Mars billions of years ago, during the time life appeared on Earth, chemical traces of this ancient life could still be present today for us to detect."
Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, the trusty tool that's had a nose for the unmistakable Martian scent, identified the molecules - hydrocarbon strings of 10, 11, and 12 carbon atoms, dubbed decane, undecane, and dodecane, respectively.
The tireless Curiosity rover has been traipsing across Gale Crater, a massive 96-mile-wide crater, since its arrival on Mars in 2012. It's surveyed many locations, including Yellowknife Bay and Mount Sharp, a 3.4-mile-high mountain in the crater's center.
The sample analyzed for the new study was drilled by Curiosity in 2013 from Yellowknife Bay, and previous analyses found it rich in clay minerals, sulfur, and nitrates. Yet, the hydrocarbon strings remained undetected for more than a decade. Only through a new method adopted by the researchers, involving pre-heating the sample to 1,100°C, did the fatty molecules come to light, hiding out amongst the efforts to locate amino acids.
Now, this Martian discovery is sparking heated debates once more about life on the Red Planet. Whether these organic molecules are remnants of microbial activity or merely complex chemical compounds formed without life, it's a tantalizing mystery that leaves us eager for more discoveries!
This Martian discovery, with its long carbon chains, could provide leads for the presence of ancient life on Mars, as seen in the hydrocarbon molecules identified by NASA's Curiosity rover, including decane, undecane, and dodecane. The discovery highlights the intertwining between science, health-and-wellness (the potential for life), and space-and-astronomy, as we continue our quest to unravel the secrets of the universe.
