NASA's Curiosity rover analyzed powdered rocks collected from the surface of Mars. Scientists revealed that several of those samples contain a type of carbon-related to biological processes on Earth.
The Intriguing Carbon on Mars
In 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars, specifically in Gale Crater. Since then, the rover has been examining and collecting samples from the red planet to be observed from Earth.
So far, the rover has given significant insights leading scientists to strip the mystery surrounding Mars. This time, another unusual mystery is set to give Earth a glimpse into possible martian life.
Recently, NASA reported that Curiosity Rover is investigating an 'intriguing carbon signature on Mars,' a study soon to be available in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
The Curiosity scientists offer several hypotheses to explain the strange carbon signatures they detected. Their theories are based partly on carbon signatures on Earth, but the two planets are too different for definitive conclusions.
"The hardest thing is letting go of Earth and letting go of that bias that we have and really trying to get into the fundamentals of the chemistry, physics, and environmental processes on Mars," said Goddard astrobiologist Jennifer L. Eigenbrode, who participated in the carbon study.
In the past, Eigenbrode led an international team of Curiosity scientists to discover several organic molecules on Mars, including carbon-containing molecules.
Ancient Life on Mars?
One explanation about the sample suggests that ancient bacteria release methane into the atmosphere. Ultraviolet light would transform that gas into larger complex molecules, thus leaving a unique carbon signature.
It is likely that these new molecules could have rained down to the surface where they have been preserved with their unique carbon signature.
Then, a nonbiological explanation suggests the carbon signature was created by ultraviolet light interacting with carbon dioxide gas in the Martian atmosphere, generating new carbon-containing molecules which settled on the surface.
Moreover, many speculate that the carbon could have been left behind after a giant molecular cloud filled with the type of carbon detected passed through the solar system millions of years ago.
Although new and intriguing, the sample does not necessarily indicate ancient life on Mars. This is because scientists have yet to discover conclusive evidence of ancient or current life there, such as sedimentary rock formations created by ancient bacteria or complex life forms.
Interestingly, nearly half of the samples collected by the Curiosity rover from five different locations had surprisingly high levels of carbon12 compared to what has been observed in the Martian atmosphere and in meteorites.
"We have to understand whether the same explanation works for Mars, or if there are other explanations because Mars is very different," said Christopher House, a Curiosity scientist based at Penn State who led the carbon study.
A major reason for the study of carbon is that this element is found throughout all living things on Earth; it moves continuously through the air, water, and soil in a cycle that its isotopes can measure.
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Written by Thea Felicity
