Discovery of Longest Organic Molecules on Mars

A team of scientists has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun and a potential host for life beyond Earth. The researchers have found the longest organic molecules yet seen on Mars, which raises intriguing questions about the possibility of biological activity on the Red Planet in the distant past.

Mars: A Hostile Environment

Today, Mars is an inhospitable world with significant temperature fluctuations, a thin atmosphere, and a lack of liquid water on its surface. However, new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that large molecules found on Mars are as old as life on Earth, dating back to around 3.7 billion years ago. These molecules, which are long carbon chains containing up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, have been preserved on Mars for billions of years, untouched by geological activity, moisture, or heat.

Curiosity Rover’s Findings

The Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for years, revealing new insights into the planet’s ancient environment. The rover’s findings have shown that carbon, a vital element for life, was present on Mars in the form of long carbon chains. According to a release from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), these carbon chains "could exhibit features similar to the fatty acids produced on Earth by biological activity." The discovery of these organic molecules provides crucial insights into potential biological processes on early Mars, although it is not conclusive evidence of past or present life.

Implications and Future Missions

The discovery of these organic molecules is significant because it suggests that the building blocks necessary for life as we know it were present on Mars, and that the planet may have had the right conditions to support life in the past. While the source of these organic molecules on Mars could not be established, they could have been formed by geological processes, delivered to the surface by meteorites, or be the remnants of an ancient Martian biology. The team used the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory aboard Curiosity to make its findings, and future missions, such as the ESA’s ExoMars and the joint NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return, will help scientists better assess Mars’ composition and potential for life.

Searching for Signs of Life

The discovery of long-chain hydrocarbons on Mars bolsters the current strategy of searching for ancient signs of life on the Martian surface. Scientists believe that the chemical building blocks of life, including amino acids, carboxylic acids, and nucleobases, were widespread throughout the solar system and could have been delivered to Mars. The question remains, however, whether the life-forming organic chemistry required to create complex structures like proteins and nucleic acids ever occurred on Mars. Liquid water once existed on Mars, and space agency rovers are now tasked with exploring those once-wet environments, seeking signs of primordial life similar to those found on Earth.

Future Research and Missions

New methods could make it easier to spot signs of life on Mars, and perhaps explain how the life that may have once existed there became extinct as the Red Planet became barren and inhospitable. Beyond Mars, the same international teams will build an instrument like SAM for the Dragonfly mission, a quadcopter that will explore Saturn’s satellite Titan beginning in the mid-2030s. The search for life on Mars and beyond continues, with scientists using advanced technologies and methodologies to uncover the secrets of the Red Planet and the potential for life in our solar system.