Overview
- The peer-reviewed study, which appeared Tuesday in Nature Communications, reports that Curiosity found more than 20 organic molecules in Glen Torridon inside Gale Crater.
- Scientists stress this is not evidence of life and say only returned samples can tell whether the carbon came from biology, geology, or meteorites.
- The suite includes a nitrogen-bearing molecule with a structure like DNA precursors and benzothiophene, a sulfur compound often delivered by meteorites.
- Curiosity’s onboard SAM lab used a rare TMAH heat-and-chemistry test that freed larger or bound organics from clay so its instruments could measure them.
- The team estimates the organics were locked in clay about 3.5 billion years ago during a lake phase, a result that now guides plans for Mars sample return and upcoming biosignature hunts such as the Rosalind Franklin rover and NASA’s Dragonfly mission.