NASA Curiosity Rover Discovers Large Organic Compound On Mars

While exploring the Yellowknife Bay on Mars, the NASA Curiosity rover stumbled upon a 3.7 billion-year-old rock that holds an impressive discovery. After conducting a series of tests, the rover found what appears to be the largest organic compound on the planet to date.

Organic Compound Discovered By The Curiosity Rover Raises Questions About Life On Mars

The material found on Mars by the Curiosity rover appears to be long-chain alkane organic molecules, possibly the remains of fatty acids. It is a basic component of the cell membrane in all living organisms that roam Earth.

Finding such a crucial component of life on Mars raises questions about the history of the planet. Some question whether this compound found by the Curiosity rover reveals that at a certain point, life existed on Mars.

While this discovery is impressive, it is important to understand that the formation of this compound is either biologically or chemically. Saying that the long-chain alkane organic molecules found on Mars are “from membrane degradation of cells present 3.7bn years ago” is only a hypothesis as Dr Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist, points out.

Scientists aren’t also tagging this discovery as proof that life once existed on Mars. Instead, this discovery might be an identification of the possible existence of life on Mars.

This isn’t the first time that the NASA Curiosity rover has come across similar alkanes on Mars. In 2018, the rover detected short carbon-chain molecules while exploring the Gale Crater on Mars.

More Research Work On This Finding Is Necessary

Analysis of the recent findings from the NASA Curiosity rover highlights a ton of similarities between the long-chain hydrocarbons found on Mars and those here on Earth. Speaking on this analysis, Freissinet says that the similarities are “very intriguing.”

Prof John Eiler of the California Institute of Technology points to the importance of identifying the various isotopes of carbon and hydrogen in organics to find out their origin.

This identification process can’t be conducted by the NASA Curiosity rover on Mars. While this finding reveals a possibility of life existing on Mars years ago, there is a need to return the samples collected to Earth for proper testing.