Latest news with #Freissinet
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Curiosity rover finds largest carbon chains on Mars from 3.7-billion-year-old rock
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The longest molecules ever found on Mars have been unearthed by NASA's Curiosity rover, and they could mean the planet is strewn with evidence for ancient life. Molecule chains containing up to twelve carbon atoms linked together were detected in a 3.7 billion-year-old rock sample collected from a dried-up Martian lakebed named Yellowknife Bay, according to a study published March 24 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These long carbon chains are thought to have originated from molecules called fatty acids, which, on Earth, are produced by biological activity. While fatty acids can form without biological input, which may be the case on Mars, their existence on the Red Planet means that signs of life may be lurking within its soil. "The fact that fragile linear molecules are still present at Mars' surface 3.7 billion years after their formation allows us to make a new statement: If life ever appeared on Mars billions of years ago, at the time life appeared on the Earth, chemical traces of this ancient life could still be present today for us to detect," study co-author Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in the Laboratory for Atmospheres and Space Observations, told Live Science. The molecules — hydrocarbon strings of 10, 11 and 12 carbon atoms called decane, undecane, and dodecane — were detected by Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. The Curiosity Rover arrived on Mars in 2012 at the Gale Crater, a massive 96-mile-wide (154 km-wide) impact crater formed by the planet's collision with an ancient meteorite. In the years since, the rover has traveled about 20 miles (32 km) across the crater, investigating places including Yellowknife Bay and Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), a 3.4-mile-high (5.5 km-high) mountain in the center of the crater. Related: NASA Mars rover finds 'first compelling detection' of potential fossilized life on the Red Planet Nicknamed "Cumberland", the sample analyzed for the new study was drilled by Curiosity in 2013 from Yellowknife Bay, and previous analyses found it to be rich in clay minerals, sulfur, and nitrates. But despite many thorough tests, the hydrocarbon strings in the sample remained undetected for more than a decade. The hydrocarbons were actually discovered by accident as part of an attempt to find the building blocks of proteins — known as amino acids — in the sample. The researchers behind the new study thought to test out a new method for finding these molecules by pre-heating the sample to 1,100°C (2,012°F) to release oxygen before analysis. Their results showed no amino acids, but, by pure luck, they discovered the fatty molecules hiding there instead. "The excitement was super high when I saw the peaks on the spectrum for the first time," Freissinet said. "It was both surprising and not surprising. Surprising because those results were found on the Cumberland sample that we had already analyzed many times in the past. Not surprising because we have defined a new strategy to analyze this sample." "New method, new results," she added. The researchers suggest that the molecules may have broken off from the long tails of fatty acids named undecanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, and tridecanoic acid, respectively. Fatty acids are long chains of carbon and hydrogen with a carboxyl (-COOH) acid group at the end. To test this theory, the researchers mixed undecanoic acid into a Mars-like clay in the lab before performing a test similar to that carried out by the SAM instrument As expected, the undecanoic acid broke down to decane, indicating that the carbon chains could indeed have originated from fatty acids. On Earth, molecules like these are overwhelmingly produced by biological processes, but they can also occur naturally without life. However, non-biological processes usually only result in fatty acids with fewer than 12 carbon atoms, the researchers say. While the longest carbon chain detected by SAM had 12 carbons, the instrument is not optimized to detect longer molecules, meaning that it is possible longer chains were also present. RELATED STORIES —NASA may have unknowingly found and killed alien life on Mars 50 years ago, scientist claims —'Building blocks of life' discovered on Mars in 10 different rock samples —Just 22 people are needed to colonize Mars — as long as they are the right personality type, study claims "There is evidence that liquid water existed in Gale Crater for millions of years and probably much longer, which means there was enough time for life-forming chemistry to happen in these crater-lake environments on Mars," study co-author Daniel Glavin, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a NASA statement. Regardless of what made them, the detection of the carbon chains and their likely origins as fatty acids confirms that Curiosity can detect molecules of this kind, and that the molecules can remain preserved for billions of years in the Martian environment. The researchers hope to one day bring samples of Martian soil back home to Earth to properly analyze the contents, and hopefully solve the mystery of the Red Planet's elusive life once and for all. "We are ready to take the next big step and bring Mars samples home to our labs to settle the debate about life on Mars," said Glavin. This article was originally published on March 25, 2025
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Longest molecules ever found on Mars may be remnants of building blocks of life
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The longest molecules ever found on Mars have been unearthed by NASA's Curiosity rover, and they could mean the planet is strewn with evidence for ancient life. Molecule chains containing up to twelve carbon atoms linked together were detected in a 3.7 billion-year-old rock sample collected from a dried-up Martian lakebed named Yellowknife Bay, according to a study published Monday (March 24) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These long carbon chains are thought to have originated from molecules called fatty acids, which, on Earth, are produced by biological activity. While fatty acids can form without biological input, which may be the case on Mars, their existence on the Red Planet means that signs of life may be lurking within its soil. "The fact that fragile linear molecules are still present at Mars' surface 3.7 billion years after their formation allows us to make a new statement: If life ever appeared on Mars billions of years ago, at the time life appeared on the Earth, chemical traces of this ancient life could still be present today for us to detect," study co-author Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in the Laboratory for Atmospheres and Space Observations, told Live Science. The molecules — hydrocarbon strings of 10, 11 and 12 carbon atoms called decane, undecane, and dodecane — were detected by Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. The Curiosity Rover arrived on Mars in 2012 at the Gale Crater, a massive 96-mile-wide (154 km-wide) impact crater formed by the planet's collision with an ancient meteorite. In the years since, the rover has traveled about 20 miles (32 km) across the crater, investigating places including Yellowknife Bay and Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons), a 3.4-mile-high (5.5 km-high) mountain in the center of the crater. Related: NASA Mars rover finds 'first compelling detection' of potential fossilized life on the Red Planet Nicknamed "Cumberland", the sample analyzed for the new study was drilled by Curiosity in 2013 from Yellowknife Bay, and previous analyses found it to be rich in clay minerals, sulfur, and nitrates. But despite many thorough tests, the hydrocarbon strings in the sample remained undetected for more than a decade. The hydrocarbons were actually discovered by accident as part of an attempt to find the building blocks of proteins — known as amino acids — in the sample. The researchers behind the new study thought to test out a new method for finding these molecules by pre-heating the sample to 1,100°C (2,012°F) to release oxygen before analysis. Their results showed no amino acids, but, by pure luck, they discovered the fatty molecules hiding there instead. "The excitement was super high when I saw the peaks on the spectrum for the first time," Freissinet said. "It was both surprising and not surprising. Surprising because those results were found on the Cumberland sample that we had already analyzed many times in the past. Not surprising because we have defined a new strategy to analyze this sample." "New method, new results," she added. The researchers suggest that the molecules may have broken off from the long tails of fatty acids named undecanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, and tridecanoic acid, respectively. Fatty acids are long chains of carbon and hydrogen with a carboxyl (-COOH) acid group at the end. To test this theory, the researchers mixed undecanoic acid into a Mars-like clay in the lab before performing a test similar to that carried out by the SAM instrument As expected, the undecanoic acid broke down to decane, indicating that the carbon chains could indeed have originated from fatty acids. On Earth, molecules like these are overwhelmingly produced by biological processes, but they can also occur naturally without life. However, non-biological processes usually only result in fatty acids with fewer than 12 carbon atoms, the researchers say. While the longest carbon chain detected by SAM had 12 carbons, the instrument is not optimized to detect longer molecules, meaning that it is possible longer chains were also present. RELATED STORIES —NASA may have unknowingly found and killed alien life on Mars 50 years ago, scientist claims —'Building blocks of life' discovered on Mars in 10 different rock samples —Just 22 people are needed to colonize Mars — as long as they are the right personality type, study claims "There is evidence that liquid water existed in Gale Crater for millions of years and probably much longer, which means there was enough time for life-forming chemistry to happen in these crater-lake environments on Mars," study co-author Daniel Glavin, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a NASA statement. Regardless of what made them, the detection of the carbon chains and their likely origins as fatty acids confirms that Curiosity can detect molecules of this kind, and that the molecules can remain preserved for billions of years in the Martian environment. The researchers hope to one day bring samples of Martian soil back home to Earth to properly analyze the contents, and hopefully solve the mystery of the Red Planet's elusive life once and for all. "We are ready to take the next big step and bring Mars samples home to our labs to settle the debate about life on Mars," said Glavin.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Largest organic compounds ever found on Mars, hope rises for ancient life
In a breakthrough discovery, researchers have found the largest organic compounds ever seen on Mars, offering new clues about whether life once existed on the Red Planet. Buried within a 3.7-billion-year-old rock sample, the largest organic compounds ever found on Mars have been uncovered by NASA's Curiosity rover—a six-wheeled lone explorer traversing the planet. The discovery was made in Yellowknife Bay, a former lakebed that once held all the right conditions for life to emerge. Tests conducted onboard the rover suggest that the rock contains long-chain alkanes—organic molecules believed to be remnants of fatty acids. While these compounds can form through non-biological chemical reactions, they are also essential building blocks of cell membranes in all living organisms on Earth. The researchers, however, have not reported finding a biosignature—defined as any 'characteristic, element, molecule, substance, or feature' that serves as evidence of past or present life. Still, one expert noted that this material represents the best chance yet for identifying signs of ancient life on Mars. 'These molecules can be made by chemistry or biology,' Dr Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist, said. 'If we have long-chain fatty acids on Mars, those could come – and it's only one hypothesis – from membrane degradation of cells present 3.7bn years ago.' In the fresh study, Freissinet and her colleagues developed a new procedure to analyze a larger portion of the mudstone sample. As a result, Curiosity detected significantly larger organic molecules, including decane, undecane, and dodecane. During their research, scientists analyzed a sample named Cumberland, which likely contained carboxylic acids, or fatty acids, that transformed into alkanes during the heating process 'Although abiotic processes can form these acids, they are considered universal products of biochemistry, terrestrial, and perhaps Martian,' the scientists said. On deeper analysis, the scientists discovered that Martian organics made fatty acids by adding two carbon atoms at a time, just like organisms on Earth. 'The one in the middle with 12 carbons is more abundant than the other two. We have the same trend on Mars, but a trend drawn from three molecules is not a real trend. Still, it's very intriguing,' Freissinet said. The recent finding bolsters hopes that organic signatures of life can persist in Martian rock for billions of years, raising the chances of detecting past life. The Martian explorer is carrying another rock sample that may reveal larger organics, potentially reinforcing evidence of even-numbered fatty acids. Curiosity's journey began in 2011, embarking on a mission to explore Mars' past. Over the years, it has traveled more than 20 miles (32 km) across Gale Crater, uncovering clues about the planet's ancient environment. Six years into the mission, NASA's explorer detected organics in ancient mudstone, though only short carbon-chain molecules. Since October 2023, it has been exploring a sulfate-rich region of Mars. For over seven years, Curiosity has also been climbing Mount Sharp, analyzing its layered formations. The study has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Curiosity Mars rover discovers largest organic molecules ever seen on Red Planet
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists have announced the discovery of the largest organic molecules ever found on Mars. These molecules could have come from the breakdown of fatty acids that existed 3.7 billion years ago before being preserved in sediments laid down by an ancient lake on the Red Planet. While molecules don't exactly prove the existence of past life on Mars, scientists say that they show that such a discovery might indeed be possible. "Our study proves that, even today, by analyzing Mars samples we could detect chemical signatures of past life, if it ever existed on Mars," said Caroline Freissinet, an astrochemist from the Laboratoire Atmosphères et Observations Spatiales in Guyancourt, France, in a statement. The molecules are known as alkanes, hydrocarbons that combine chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to them. They were found by NASA's Curiosity rover when it drilled into a sample of mudstone from a rock nicknamed 'Cumberland', in the Yellowknife Bay region of Mars' Gale crater, all the way back in 2013. Curiosity landed in the 96-mile (154-kilometer) Gale crater in 2012. The crater was once flooded by an ancient lake, making it a promising location to search for signs of past habitability, and Yellowknife Bay lies on what was once the lake floor. The Cumberland rock is made from clay-rich sedimentary material laid down by this lake. "There is evidence that liquid water existed in Gale crater for millions of years and probably much longer, which means there was enough time for life-forming chemistry to happen in these crater-lake environments on Mars," said Daniel Glavin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the statement announcing this discovery. The organic molecules were discovered by Curiosity's Sample Analysis on Mars (SAM) suite of instruments. Using this suite, the rover drills a rock sample and scoops it into the SAM, where it is baked in an oven to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius). This releases gases from the sample, which are then separated and studied by specialized sensors (in this case, a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer) that can identify the elements vital for life — carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. A separate laser spectrometer analyzes the gases, searching for signs of water and smaller organic molecules such as methane. Freissinet and Glavin previously co-led earlier discoveries of organic molecules in the Cumberland sample, including methane as well as chlorine or sulfur-bearing organics, but until this study, the largest organic molecules found on Mars had been only six carbon atoms long. So Freissinet and Glavin modified the SAM procedure to search for larger organic molecules. In particular they and their team were looking for amino acids. They didn't find any, but they did find alkanes larger than any found on Mars thus far. These include decane (10 carbon atoms and 22 hydrogen atoms), undecane (11 carbon atoms and 24 hydrogen atoms) and dodecane (12 carbon atoms and 26 hydrogen atoms). Although dodecane is the largest alkane ever found on Mars, it is still dwarfed in comparison to the largest alkanes on Earth, which can feature over 150 carbon atoms. It's possible that the large Martian alkanes have a geochemical origin — nothing to do with life — but Freissinet and Glavin's team performed laboratory experiments showing that they could have come from the breakdown of fatty acids entombed in the clay-rich sedimentary materials over 3.7 billion years. Life incorporates fatty acids into cell membranes and uses them to regulate various cell and organ processes. However, fatty acids can also be produced by geochemistry, so inferring their existence on Mars 3.7 billion years ago is not necessarily proof of life. However, abiotic fatty acids do tend to be smaller in size than 12 carbon atoms. The timing is also curious — 3.7 billion years ago is also when life is thought to have first started getting a grip on Earth. Could life on both our worlds have developed synchronously? RELATED STORIES: — Curiosity rover: The ultimate guide — Curiosity rover discovers new evidence Mars once had 'right conditions' for life — NASA's Curiosity Mars rover begins exploring possible dried-up Red Planet river For now that remains speculation, but while the presence of long-chain alkanes is not a smoking gun for life on Mars, they could be a big clue. However, Curiosity rover's SAM instruments are unable to detect organic molecules larger than dodecane, meaning that the future of Mars-life research could lie on Earth. "We are ready to take the next big step and bring Mars samples home to our labs to settle the debate about life on Mars," said Glavin, who is NASA's senior scientist for sample return. However, this would depend upon how soon a mission can be launched to retrieve the samples cached by Curiosity's sibling rover, Perseverance. NASA has recently run into difficulties designing and funding a retrieval mission and has solicited help from private companies. The findings were published on March 24 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Guardian
24-03-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Nasa rover discovers largest organic compounds yet found on Mars
Nasa's Curiosity rover has found the largest organic compounds ever seen on Mars, raising tantalising questions about whether life emerged on the red planet billions of years ago. The compounds were detected in a 3.7bn-year-old rock sample collected in Yellowknife Bay, an ancient Martian lakebed that harboured all the necessary ingredients for life in the planet's warmer, wetter past. Tests onboard the rover found that the rock contained long-chain alkanes, organic molecules thought to be remnants of fatty acids. The compounds can be made by lifeless chemical reactions, but are crucial constituents of cell membranes in all living organisms on Earth. The researchers do not claim to have found a biosignature – a 'smoking gun' indicating life was once present – but one expert said the material represented the best chance that scientists had ever had for identifying remains of life on Mars. 'These molecules can be made by chemistry or biology,' said Dr Caroline Freissinet, an analytical chemist who led the research at the Atmospheres and Space Observations Laboratory in Guyancourt, near Paris. 'If we have long-chain fatty acids on Mars, those could come – and it's only one hypothesis – from membrane degradation of cells present 3.7bn years ago.' The Curiosity rover has trundled more than 20 miles (32km) across the Gale crater since landing on Mars in 2012. Six years into the mission, it detected traces of organics in the ancient mudstone, but all were relatively short carbon-chain molecules. For the latest study, Freissinet and her colleagues developed a new procedure to test more of the sample drilled from the mudstone. This time, Curiosity detected much larger organics, namely decane, undecane and dodecane. Work on Earth showed that the Martian rock sample, known as Cumberland, probably contained carboxylic acids, or fatty acids, that converted to alkanes in the heating process. 'Although abiotic processes can form these acids, they are considered universal products of biochemistry, terrestrial, and perhaps Martian,' the scientists wrote in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Further analysis of the organics only deepened the intrigue. When organisms on Earth make fatty acids, the compounds tend to contain more even numbers than odd numbers of carbon atoms. This is because some enzymes build fatty acids by adding two carbon atoms at a time. The scientists saw hints of this in the Martian organics, too. 'Cumberland is teasing us,' Freissinet said. 'The one in the middle with 12 carbons is more abundant than the other two. We have the same trend on Mars, but a trend drawn from three molecules is not a real trend. Still, it's very intriguing.' The finding suggests, at the very least, that organic signatures of life can be preserved in Martian rock for billions of years, bolstering hopes that should life ever have emerged on the planet, its remnants might still be found. The pressing question is what to do next. Curiosity is carrying a second sample of the rock that scientists want to analyse for even larger organics. This might boost evidence for more fatty acids containing even numbers of carbons. But that would still not be conclusive. John Eiler, a professor of geology and geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, said analysing the different isotopes of carbon and hydrogen in the organics could reveal their origins. However, the tests require equipment found in only a handful of labs on Earth. 'At present, there is no plausible path to making such measurements using an in-situ instrument on Mars,' he said. That will have to wait for a Mars sample-return mission. 'The findings reported in this paper present the best chance we have seen for identifying the remains of life on Mars,' said Eiler. 'But sealing the deal absolutely requires return of such samples to Earth.'
