Curiosity rover discovered new organic molecules on Mars

The researchers hope that thanks to this find, they will be able to find signs of life on the Red Planet.

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In 2017, when the Curiosity rover was collecting soil samples from the Bagnold dunes, the spacecraft encountered an unexpected malfunction: its drill suddenly failed. Popular Science.

Instead of abandoning the mission, NASA scientists changed the sampling method so that the rover placed soil samples not in empty containers, but in cells with a chemical mixture.

Surprisingly, this type of sampling, known as wet sampling, has helped scientists identify organic molecules that have not yet been seen on the Red Planet.

The Curiosity rover has been searching for biosignatures and signs of life on Mars since it landed on the planet in 2012. It is assumed that lakes, rivers and microbial life previously existed on the Red Planet.

The Curiosity sample collected from the Bagnold dunes did not have any biosignatures of the planet’s past life, but it did contain organic molecules that were not previously found on Mars: ammonia and benzoic acid.

These organic molecules are good indicators of biosignatures – chemicals that may have been remnants of the vital activity of organisms in the past. Moreover, they also indicate that this method of collecting samples is quite promising.

Organic materials, including thiophenes, benzene, toluene and small carbon chains, have already been found on the Red Planet in sediment samples.

These compounds were identified using specialized Curiosity instruments that heated sedimentary rocks and released molecules. However, ammonia and benzoic acid have never been found using this method before.

In wet sampling, Curiosity dipped soil into a mixture of chemicals, triggering a chemical reaction that allowed researchers to figure out which molecules were present. However, at this point it is still necessary to find out where and how they originated.

As a result, the research of scientists has shown that molecules can be both the result of geological processes and indicators of the past habitability of the planet.

The dunes where the sample was collected are located in Gale Crater – a place that was previously filled with water – a good point to look for signs of past life. However, to get even more samples to work with, the researchers are awaiting the launch of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars expedition.

Meanwhile, this new find is helping scientists gain a clearer picture of Mars’ history as they continue to uncover the secrets of the Red Planet step by step.

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