The existence of the long series in Mars has raised hope that life can exist on the planet billions of years ago.
Curiosity robot works in the mouth of the Gale hole. Image: NASA
NASA’s Curiosity self -propelled robot found the largest organic compound ever encountered on Mars, sparking questions whether life appeared on the red planet billions of years ago. The compound was discovered in a 3.7 billion years of stone collected in Yellowknife Bay, an ancient lake on Mars containing all the ingredients necessary for the more humid and warm past life of this planet, Guardian Report.
Checking on self -propelled robots indicates a long -chain alkane stone material, organic molecules are thought to be a vestige of fatty acids. It can be created by chemical reactions, but is the key component of the cell membrane in every organization living on Earth. The research team did not confirm that biological signs proved that life had existed, but an expert said the material representing the best opportunity that scientists had to identify the traces of life on Mars.
“These molecules can be created by chemistry or biology,” said Dr. Caroline Freissinet, analyst analyzer at the atmosphere and space observation laboratory at Guyancourt, near Paris. “If we have long chain fatty acids on Mars, one theory is that they come from cellular decomposition 3.7 billion years ago.”
Curiosity robot rolled over 32 km across the mouth of Gale since landing on Mars in 2012. In the latest study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on March 24, Freissinet and colleagues developed a new process to check more drilling samples from mud rocks. This time, Curiosity detected much larger organic matter called Decane, Undecane and Dodecane.
Research on Earth shows that the Mars Stone is called Cumberland, which can contain carboxylic acid or fatty acids that change into alkane during heating. “Although the infertility process can form these acids, they are considered to be a common product of biochemistry on earth and may be in Mars,” the team said.
When organized on Earth produces fatty acids, the compound often contains more carbon atoms than odds. This is because some enzymes produce fatty acids by adding two carbon atoms each time. Scientists found such signs in the organic substance on Mars. Discovery shows that at least signs of organism of life can be stored in Mars for billions of years, sparking hope that life has appeared on the planet. Curiosity is carrying a second stone model that the team wants to analyze to find larger organic matter. This can strengthen evidence of fatty acids containing carbon even.
According to John Eiler, a professor of geology and chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, analyzes the different isotopes of carbon and hydrogen in organic compounds that can reveal their origin. However, the testing process requires the equipment only in some laboratories on Earth, so it is necessary to wait for the task of bringing the Mars.
They are (Theo Guardian)