Rover Curiosity, from NASA, found essential molecules for life in rock of 3.7 billion years
NASA’s Curiosity robot found large organic compounds on Mars in a 3.7 billion -year -old rock sample, collected in Yellowknife Bay, an old Lake Martian bed. According to the publication of (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) on Monday (24.mar.2025), the site had necessary conditions for life in the warmer and wetter past on the planet.
The sample, called “Cumberland”was collected on May 19, 2013, on the 279th Martian Day of the Mission. The compounds found, including dean, Undecan and Dodecan, indicate the presence of fatty acids, essential to life, although they may be formed by non -biological processes.
Long chain alkanes, organic molecules found, are essential components of cell membranes in all living organisms found on Earth. Dr. Caroline Freissinet, who led the research, highlighted the importance of the findings, but said that it can not yet be said that they are a sign of definitive life in the past.
“Our study proves that, even today, analyzing samples of Mars, we could detect chemical signatures of past lives, if they already existed in Mars”he explained.
A “Cumberland” It was extracted from Yellowknife Bay, a region that appears to have been the bed of an old lake. The discovery of the curiosity robot marks the first time that complex organic molecules are identified in Mars, increasing the possibility of preserving biosignatures – a sign of life – on the planet.
