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NASA-funded research on Mars meteorites that landed on Earth showsstrong evidence that very large molecules containing carbon, whichis a key ingredient for the building blocks of life, can originateon the Red Planet. These macromolecules are not of biologicalorigin, but they are indicators that complex carbon chemistry hastaken place on Mars. Researchers from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washingtonwho found reduced carbon molecules now have better insight into thechemical processes taking place on Mars. Reduced carbon is carbonthat is bonded to hydrogen or itself. Their findings also mayassist in future quests for evidence of life on the Red Planet. Thefindings are published in Thursday's online edition of ScienceExpress. "These findings show that the storage of reduced carbon moleculeson Mars occurred throughout the planet's history and might havebeen similar to processes that occurred on the ancient Earth," saidAndrew Steele, lead author of the paper and researcher fromCarnegie. "Understanding the genesis of these non-biological,carbon-containing macromolecules on Mars is crucial for developingfuture missions to detect evidence of life on our neighboringplanet." Finding molecules containing large chains of carbon and hydrogenhas been one objective of past and present Mars missions. Suchmolecules have been found previously in Mars meteorites, butscientists have disagreed about how the carbon in them was formedand whether it came from Mars. This new information proves Mars canproduce organic carbon. "Although this study has not yielded evidence that Mars has or oncemay have supported life, it does address some important questionsabout the sources of organic carbon on Mars," said Mary Voytek,director of NASA's Astrobiology Program at the agency'sHeadquarters in Washington. "With the Curiosity rover scheduled to land in August, these newresearch results may help Mars Science Laboratory scientistsfine-tune their investigations on the surface of the planet byunderstanding where organic carbon may be found and how it ispreserved." Scientists have theorized that the large carbon macromoleculesdetected on Martian meteorites could have originated fromterrestrial contamination from Earth or other meteorites, orchemical reactions or biological activity on Mars. Steele's team examined samples from 11 Martian meteorites from aperiod spanning about 4.2 billion years of Martian history. Theydetected large carbon compounds in 10 of them. The molecules werefound inside grains of crystallized minerals. Using an array of sophisticated research techniques, the team wasable to show that at least some of the macromolecules of carbonwere indigenous to the meteorites themselves and not contaminationfrom Earth. The team next looked at the carbon molecules in relation to otherminerals in the meteorites to see what kinds of chemical processingthese samples endured before arriving on Earth. The crystallinegrains encasing the carbon compounds provided a window into how thecarbon molecules were created. Their findings indicate that thecarbon was created by volcanic activity on Mars and show that Marshas been doing organic chemistry for most of its history. In a separate paper published by American Mineralogist, Steele andhis team report their findings on the same meteorite announced in1996 to contain possible - but subsequently discounted - relics ofancient biological life on Mars. Called ALH84001, the meteorite wasfound to also contain organic macromolecules of non-biologicalorigin. The Steele team's research indicates that Mars does have a pool ofreduced carbon. Their findings should help scientists involved incurrent and future Mars missions distinguish non-biologicallyformed carbon molecules from potential life. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Mild Steel Wire , Stainless Steel Beading Wire, and more. For more , please visit Tyre Bead Wire today!
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