NASA’s Curiosity rover has found DNA-like molecules and space-rock chemicals on Mars, proving the Red Planet could have preserved ancient signs of alien life
NASA boffins have moved one giant leap closer to proving we aren’t alone after a groundbreaking discovery on Mars. The space agency’s Curiosity rover, which has been trekking across the Red Planet for over a decade, has successfully detected chemicals widely considered to be the building blocks of life as we know it.
In a world-first experiment conducted on another planet, the high-tech bot proved that the Martian surface is capable of trapping and preserving ancient molecules for billions of years.
During the complex chemical test, Curiosity sniffed out more than 20 different chemicals. However, two specific finds have piqued the interest of the scientific community.
The rover detected nitrogen-bearing molecules that feature a chemical structure remarkably similar to the precursors found in DNA.
Scientists also identified benzothiophene, a substance frequently transported by meteorites that had never been spotted on the Martian surface until now.
While the discovery is a massive win for NASA, the team can’t yet confirm exactly how these molecules arrived.
To get a definitive answer on whether they are remnants of ancient Martians, the rocks would need to be hauled back to Earth for lab testing.
Professor Amy Williams, a lead scientist from the University of Florida working on both the Curiosity and Perseverance missions, believes the find is a game-changer for space exploration.
She said: “We think we’re looking at organic matter that’s been preserved on Mars for 3.5 billion years. It’s really useful to have evidence that ancient organic matter is preserved, because that is a way to assess the habitability of an environment.
“And if we want to search for evidence of life in the form of preserved organic carbon, this demonstrates it’s possible.”
The presence of benzothiophene is particularly of note, as it suggests Mars was once bombarded by the same space-rocks that kickstarted life on Earth.
Professor Williams added: “The same stuff that rained down on Mars from meteorites is what rained down on Earth, and it probably provided the building blocks for life as we know it on our planet.
“We now know that there are big complex organics preserved in the shallow subsurface of Mars and that holds a lot of promise for preserving large complex organics that might be diagnostic of life.”
The findings, which offer the strongest hint yet that Mars was once a habitable home, have been officially published in the journal Nature Communications.
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