(http://www.dailygalaxy.com/.a/6a00d8341bf7f753ef022ad39733a8200b-800wi)
"June 08, 2018
NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered new "tough" organic molecules in three-billion-year-old sedimentary rocks on Mars, increasing the chances that the record of habitability and potential life could have been preserved on the Red Planet, despite extremely harsh conditions on the surface that can easily break down organic molecules.
"The Martian surface is exposed to radiation from space and harsh chemicals that break down organic matter, so finding ancient organic molecules in the top five centimeters, from a time when Mars may have been habitable, bodes well for us to learn the story of organic molecules on Mars with future missions that will drill deeper," said lead author Jen Eigenbrode of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
"Whether it holds a record of ancient life, is the food for extant life, or has existed in the absence of life, organic matter in Martian materials holds chemical clues to planetary conditions and processes," Eigenbrode said.
Carnegie's Andrew Steele was a key member of the research team, whose work on this project built off his discovery six years ago of indigenous organic carbon in 10 Martian meteorites. The organic molecules he found in 2012 are comparable to those found by Curiosity.
Analysis by Curiosity indicates that billions of years ago, a lake inside Gale crater held all the ingredients necessary for life, including chemical building blocks, energy sources, and liquid water. The mudstone gradually formed from silt that settled out of the water and accumulated at the bottom of the lake. Scientists estimated the age of the rocks by the crater count method. Since meteorite impact craters accumulate over time, the more craters a region has, the older it is. Although there was no way to directly date the organic material found within the rocks, it has to be at least as old as the rocks themselves."
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http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2018/06/three-billion-year-old-tough-organic-molecules-nasa-update-on-the-mars-curiosity-rover-findings.html (http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2018/06/three-billion-year-old-tough-organic-molecules-nasa-update-on-the-mars-curiosity-rover-findings.html)