Mars ‘has life’s building blocks’
26, May, BBC
New evidence from meteorites suggests that the basic building blocks
of life are present on Mars.The study found that carbon present in 10
meteorites, spanning more than four billion years of Martian history,
came from the planet and was not the result of contamination on
Earth.Details of the work have been published in the journal Science.
But the research also shows the Martian carbon did not come from life
forms.A team of scientists based at the Carnegie Institution for
Science, based in Washington DC, found "reduced carbon" in the
meteorites and says it was created by volcanic activity on Mars. Reduced
carbon is carbon that is chemically bonded to hydrogen or itself. They
argue this is evidence "that Mars has been undertaking organic chemistry
for most of its history.
"The team's leader Dr Andrew Steele told BBC News: "For about the
last 40 years we have been looking for a pool of what is called 'reduced
carbon' on Mars, trying to find where it is, if it's there, asking "does
it exist?""Without carbon, the building blocks of life cannot exist...
So it is reduced carbon that, with hydrogen, with oxygen, with nitrogen
make up the organic molecules of life.
"He says the new analysis has answered the first question. "This
research shows, yes - it does exist on Mars and now we are moving to the
next set of questions. "What happened to it, what was its fate, did it
take the next step of creating life on Mars? "He hopes the next mission
to land on the Red Planet - the Mars Science Laboratory, also known as
the "Curiosity" rover - will shed more light on the big question.
"The question 'are we alone' has been a big driver of science but it
relates back to our own origins on this planet. If there is no life on
Mars why? It allow us to make a more informed hypothesis about why life
is here."So does Dr Steele think there was, or is, life on Mars?He
laughs: "Get me some rocks back, I'll have a look and let you know." |