2023-07-12 22:41:33
FILE PHOTO: Wheel tracks remain on the floor of Jezero Crater on Mars (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout via REUTERS)
The Jezero crater on arid Mars would have been a lake in the past and evidence of various organic molecules has been detected in it, suggesting that a more complex geochemical cycle might exist than previously thought.
A study published today by Nature coordinated by the California Institute of Technology (USA) has studied data from NASA’s Perseverance rover that has been traveling through Jezero for more than two years.
Organic matter can form from various processes, not just those related to life. Geological processes and chemical reactions can also form organic molecules, and these processes are the favorites for the origin of these possible Martian organics, says the University of Florida (USA), one of the signatories of the study.
Better understanding of the presence and distribution of organic matter conserved on the planet’s surface may provide key information regarding the Martian carbon cycle and the planet’s potential to support life throughout its history, the study indicates.
The investigation indicates that Perseverance, in its journey, has detected evidence of various types of organic molecules. Several types had previously been found in Martian meteorites and in Gale Crater.
A view of an image overlaid with the path taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover since it touched down in Jezero crater on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021 (NASA/Handout via REUTERS)
Among the possible explanations for the origin of these compounds are the interactions between water and rock, or deposits of interplanetary dust or meteorites, although biotic origins have not been ruled out, summarizes the publication.
The existence of organic material on the Martian surface sheds light “on the possible habitability” of the planet, adds the aforementioned university in a note.
For this finding, the SHERLOC instrument has been used, one of those carried by the rover, which allows mapping and analyzing the organic mineral molecules of the planet on a large scale.
The instrument detected signs of organic molecules in the ten targets it observed on the floor of Jezero crater, north of the Martian equator and where a lake would have been around 3.7 billion years ago, a prime site to look for signs of past life.
Those targets are in two crater floor formations, Máaz and Séítah, and signals from organic molecules were more concentrated in the former than in the latter, showing diverse mineral association and spatial distribution that may be unique to each formation.
The study detected “signals consistent” with molecules linked to aqueous processes, indicating that water may have played a key role in the diverse range of organic matter on Mars. The diversity among these observations can provide information regarding the different ways organic matter may have originated: potentially through deposition by water, or through synthesis with volcanic materials.
“The possible detection of various organic carbon species on Mars has implications for understanding the carbon cycle on Mars, and the planet’s potential to support life throughout its history,” said Amy Williams, one of the study’s signatories. and the University of Florida.
We did not originally expect to detect these potential organic signatures on the Jezero Crater floor,” Williams added, “but their diversity and distribution across different crater floor units now suggest potentially different fates of carbon in these environments.”
“The findings mark an important step forward in our exploration of the Red Planet and lay the foundation for future research into the possibility of life beyond Earth.”
The authors write that “the building blocks for life may have been present” for a long period of time, along with other chemical species as yet undetected, which “might be preserved in these two potentially habitable paleodepositional environments in Jezero Crater.” .
“We are just scratching the surface of the organic carbon story on Mars,” Williams said, “and it is an exciting time for planetary science.”
(With information from EFE)
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