The longest molecules ever found on Mars have been unearthed by NASA‘s Curiosity rover, and they could mean the planet is strewn with evidence for ancient life.
Molecule chains containing up to twelve carbon atoms linked together were detected in a 3.7 billion-year-old rock sample collected from a dried-up Martian lakebed named Yellowknife Bay, according to a study published Monday (March 24) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
These long carbon chains are thought to have originated from molecules called fatty acids, which, on Earth, are produced by biological activity. While fatty acids can form without biological input, which may be the case on Mars, their existence on the Red Planet means that signs of life may be lurking within its soil.
“The fact that fragile linear molecules are still present at Mars’ surface 3.7 billion years after their formation allows us to make a new statement: If life ever appeared on Mars billions of years ago, at the time life appeared on the Earth, chemical traces of this ancient life could still be present today for us to detect,” study co-author Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in the Laboratory for Atmospheres and Space Observations, told Live Science.
The molecules — hydrocarbon strings of 10, 11 and 12 carbon atoms called decane, undecane, and dodecane — were detected by Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.
No stone unturned
The Curiosity Rover arrived on Mars in 2012 at the Gale Crater, a massive 96-mile-wide (154 km-wide) impact crater formed by the planet’s collision with an ancient meteorite. In the years since, the rover has traveled about 20 miles (32 km) across the crater, investigating places including Yellowknife Bay and Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), a 3.4-mile-high (5.5 km-high) mountain in the center of the crater.
Related: NASA Mars rover finds ‘first compelling detection’ of potential fossilized life on the Red Planet
Nicknamed “Cumberland”, the sample analyzed for the new study was drilled by Curiosity in 2013 from Yellowknife Bay, and previous analyses found it to be rich in clay minerals, sulfur, and nitrates.
But despite many thorough tests, the hydrocarbon strings in the sample remained undetected for more than a decade. The hydrocarbons were actually discovered by accident as part of an attempt to find the building…
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