A proof of the presence of life on Mars? NASA’s Perseverance robot finds biological molecules

2023-07-13 00:43:15

Organic molecules have been found on Mars by NASA’s Perseverance robot and might give clues as to the once presence of life on Mars according to a new study.

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Although this type of molecule has already been discovered on Martian meteorites and in other craters, this is the first time that it has been found in the Jezero crater, which is considered a potential place where it might have had life, reports the Daily Mail.

This is not enough, however, to allow scientists to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was once life on the red planet, but this discovery leads them to believe that a complex system of circulation of carbon might have existed.

“These results indicate that there might have been a more complex geothermal cycle than what had been described in previous analyzes on Mars”, can we read in the study published in the periodical Nature.

The molecules in question contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphide.

They were observed using cameras located on the rover.

“Although it cannot be said with certainty whether Mars was once habitable, astrobiologists believe that the varied presence of biological molecules is very important for the potential of a planet to be able to support life”, indicates to the Daily Mail an author of the study, Dr. Joseph Razzell Hollis.

The researchers say they might only confirm the provenance of these molecules if the samples were transported to Earth for further laboratory analysis.

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