When you purchase through links on our site , we may realize an affiliate deputation . Here ’s how it turn .
The longest molecules ever set up onMarshave been excavate byNASA ’s Curiosity rover , and they could stand for the planet is strew with evidence for ancient life .
Molecule chains containing up to twelve carbon atom linked together were detected in a 3.7 billion - year - old rock and roll sampling collect from a dry out - up Martian lakebed named Yellowknife Bay , according to a work published March 24 in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
NASA’s Curiosity rover took this selfie while inside Mars' Gale crater on June 15, 2018, which was the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission.
These long carbon range of mountains are thought to have initiate from molecules called fatty acids , which , on Earth , are produced by biological activity . While fat acids can form without biological stimulus , which may be the case on Mars , their existence on the Red Planet means that sign of life sentence may be lurking within its soil .
" The fact that fragile elongate molecules are still present at Mars ' Earth’s surface 3.7 billion year after their formation permit us to make a new statement : If life ever appeared on Mars billions of years ago , at the fourth dimension life appeared on the Earth , chemical traces of this ancient sprightliness could still be present today for us to detect , " study co - authorCaroline Freissinet , an analytic chemist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in the Laboratory for Atmospheres and Space Observations , told Live Science .
The particle — hydrocarbon string of 10 , 11 and 12 carbon atoms called decane , undecane , and dodecane — were detected by Curiosity ’s Sample Analysis at Mars ( SAM ) instrument .
NASA graphic showing the long-chain organic molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane, which are the largest organic molecules discovered on Mars to date.
No stone unturned
The Curiosity Rover arrived on Mars in 2012 at the Gale Crater , a massive 96 - naut mi - wide of the mark ( 154 km - wide ) impact crater formed by the satellite ’s collision with an ancient meteorite . In the long time since , the rover has traveled about20 mile ( 32 km)across the volcanic crater , investigating places include Yellowknife Bay and Mount Sharp ( Aeolis Mons ) , a 3.4 - statute mile - high ( 5.5 km - high-pitched ) mountain in the center of the volcanic crater .
Related : NASA Mars rover finds ' first compelling detection ' of potential fossilised life on the Red Planet
nickname " Cumberland " , the sample analyzed for the young study was drilled by Curiosity in 2013 from Yellowknife Bay , and former analysis found it to be full-bodied in remains minerals , sulfur , and nitrates .
But despite many exhaustive tests , the hydrocarbon drawing string in the sample distribution remained undetected for more than a decade . The hydrocarbon were actually discovered by accident as part of an attempt to find the building blocks of proteins — bed as amino group acids — in the sample .
The researchers behind the new study thought to try out a new method for discover these molecules by pre - heat up the sampleto 1,100 ° C(2,012 ° F ) to let go atomic number 8 before analysis . Their results picture no amino group acids , but , by pure luck , they let out the fatty speck hiding there or else .
" The excitation was super high-pitched when I see the peaks on the spectrum for the first clip , " Freissinet said . " It was both surprising and not surprising . Surprising because those results were incur on the Cumberland sampling that we had already psychoanalyze many time in the past tense . Not surprising because we have defined a new scheme to analyze this sample distribution . "
" New method acting , new results , " she added .
The researchers suggest that the molecules may have broken off from the long tails of fatty acids name undecanoic Lucy in the sky with diamonds , dodecanoic pane , and tridecanoic dose , respectively . fat acid are long chains of carbon and hydrogen with a carboxyl ( -COOH ) acid group at the close .
Life-forming chemistry
To quiz this theory , the investigator blend undecanoic Zen into a Mars - comparable clay in the research lab before performing a test similar to that carried out by the SAM instrument As gestate , the undecanoic acid broke down to decane , argue that the carbon chains could indeed have rise from fatty acids .
On Earth , molecules like these are overwhelmingly bring on by biologic mental process , but they can also occur naturally without life . However , non - biological processes unremarkably only result in fatty acids with fewer than 12 C atoms , the researchers say . While the long atomic number 6 chain detected by SAM had 12 C , the tool is not optimized to detect longer mote , mean that it is potential longer chains were also present .
— NASA may have inadvertently regain and kill alien life story on Mars 50 years ago , scientist claims
— ' Building blocks of life history ' discovered on Mars in 10 different rock-and-roll samples
— Just 22 people are want to colonize Mars — as long as they are the right personality case , study claims
" There is grounds that limpid water existed in Gale Crater for millions of years and probably much prospicient , which means there was enough time for life - forming chemistry to pass in these crater - lake environments on Mars , " study co - authorDaniel Glavin , a researcher at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center , said in aNASA command .
Regardless of what made them , the detection of the carbon paper chains and their potential line as fatty loony toons corroborate that Curiosity can find molecule of this kind , and that the molecule can remain conserve for billions of long time in the Martian environment . The researchers go for to one day bring samples of Martian soil back home to Earth to decently analyze the content , and hopefully solve the closed book of the Red Planet ’s elusive liveliness once and for all .
" We are ready to take the next braggart step and contribute Mars samples home to our labs to settle the debate aboutlife on Mars , " say Glavin .
This clause was originally published on March 25 , 2025
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again , you will then be prompt to enter your display name .
