Scientists have discovered quite complex organic molecules on Mars. They actually consist of 12 elements based on carbon atoms. However, in space, where the existence of organics has only recently been proven, and that’s giant size.
Large organic molecules on Mars
The longest organic molecules found on Mars today were recently discovered by scientists from France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) along with their colleagues from the United States, Mexico and Spain. These long carbon chains, containing up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, may have properties similar to the fatty acids produced on Earth by biological activity.
The lack of geologic activity and the cold, arid climate on Mars has helped preserve this invaluable organic matter in a clay-rich sample over the past 3.7 billion years. Thus, it dates back to the period when life first originated on Earth. These findings will be published on March 24, 2025 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
SAM complex molecule search instrument
The discovery was made with SAM, one of the instruments aboard NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been studying Gale Crater on Mars since 2012. This success paves the way for future interplanetary science missions in search of signs of complex, life-like chemistry.
This will be one of the goals of ESA’s upcoming ExoMars mission, launched in 2028, and the joint NASA and ESA Mars Sample Return mission in the 2030s. To further explore the Solar System, the same international teams will build a SAM-like instrument for Dragonfly, a drone that is expected to explore the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, starting in 2034.
According to phys.org
