NASA rover discovers new evidence of organic molecules on Mars

NASA's Perseverance rover's new findings have suggested that organic molecules, which are considered as a potential indicator of life, are present in great volume and diversity in the rocks at a locale on Mars, where there was the existence of a lake long ago.

The latest evidence was collected using an instrument called SHERLOC which is mounted on the robotic arm of the six-wheeled rover that enables to carry out the analysis of organic molecules and detailed mapping. Researchers have been reporting about the findings of SHERLOC from 10 places on two geological formations on the Jezero crater's floor.

The researchers collected evidence which indicated organic molecules' presence in multiple rock samples, including a few collected which are likely to return to Earth for future analysis. The researchers stated that the discovery of evidence of such organic molecules does not prove about the existence of life in the past or present on Mars, and added that non-biological processes appear as a more likely explanation.

ALSO READ |A hint of life in universe? NASA makes breakthrough discovery of carbon molecule in space

"Organics are the molecular building blocks of life as we know it, but can also be formed from geological processes not directly related to life. We see multiple signals that appear to vary across the formations of the crater floor and in the minerals they are associated with," stated astrobiologist Sunanda Sharma of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, who was also the research's lead author which was published this week in the journal Nature.

Perseverance landed on the Martian surface at Jezero Crater in February 2021 with a mission to look for evidence of ancient life on Mars and collect samples of soil and rock which can be brought back to the Earth. Jezero Crater is an area located in the northern hemisphere of the planet which was once flooded with water and was home to an ancient lake basin.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Is Mars a hospitable place?

Mars was not always as inhospitable as it is today, as liquid water was once present on its surface years ago. Scientists have hinted at the existence of microbial life in the Jezero Crater. They claim that river channels spilt over the crater wall and a lake was created more than 3.5 billion years ago.

The researchers were able to detect signals of organic molecules at all 10 places that were studied by SHERLOC (short for Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) on the crater floor. The rocks were created igneous – volcanically.

WATCH |Why is NASA eyeing lunar mining trials within the next decade?

Study co-author Ryan Roppel, who is a graduate student in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, said that the chemical signatures can come from compounds like naphthalene or benzene.

"On Earth, these are quite common in crude oil, which has a biotic origin, but we can also form these synthetically through various chemical reactions," said Roppel.

"The concentrations we've detected are generally low, but we've observed signals associated with organics on nearly every rock we've sampled," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

You cannow write forwionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE