Overview
- Curiosity's experiment, detailed Tuesday in Nature Communications, identified more than 20 organic molecules in clay-rich rock at Gale Crater.
- The roster includes benzothiophene, often linked to meteorites, and a nitrogen-bearing heterocycle that resembles chemical precursors to DNA and RNA.
- Researchers say the organics appear preserved for about 3.5 billion years in bedrock formed by ancient lakes and streams.
- The findings do not prove past life, since the compounds could come from geology or meteorite delivery, and confirming origins would require returned samples.
- The rover’s SAM lab used a rare TMAH “wet chemistry” cup to break large molecules into detectable pieces, validating a technique slated for ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover and NASA’s Dragonfly mission.