NASA's Mars rover finds new organic matter in crater

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NASA's Mars rover finds new organic matter in crater
Mark Hallam with AFP, Reuters
6 hours ago6 hours ago
NASA's Curiosity rover has identified more organic compounds as 
scientists investigate any potential ancient life signs on Mars. It was 
exploring the massive Gale Crater also believed to be a now-dry lake.

https://p.dw.com/p/5CaDa
Curiosity Mars rover on Mars, a reddish, rocky landscape
The probes were sampled here at the 'Mary Anning' location named after a 
19th century English palaeontologist in the Glen Torridon region in 
2020; Curiosity took a 'selfie' to mark the occasionImage: 
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/REUTERS

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has identified seven organic compounds in 
rock near the planet's equator, five of which had not previously been 
found on Mars.

Researchers publishing in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday 
said the experiment also hinted at the presence of another organic 
compound bearing a structure similar to the precursors to DNA, the 
molecule that carries genetic information in living organisms on our 
planet.

However the scientists also noted that the organic compounds — molecules 
primarily composed of carbon atoms bonded to other elements that form 
the structural basis of all life on Earth — could have formed through 
nonbiological processes.

Further evidence that Mars may have been a habitable planet billions of 
years ago
Like the Earth and other planets in the solar system, Mars is thought to 
have formed around 4.5 billion years ago. Early in its history it was 
warmer and wetter than the cold, dry place it is today.

Both of NASA's Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance, have identified 
organic materials on the planet.

The Curiosity rover had been exploring the vast Gale Crater, thought 
both to be caused by an impact from a meterorite and to be a now-dry 
lake. The abundance of clay present in the Glen Torridon area of the 
crater suggests water was once present there. The meteorite could have 
brought organic matter to the planet and the water could have provided 
suitable conditions for it to develop.

An image of th4e Ubajara sampling site on Mars, taken by NASA's 
Curiosity rover. April 10, 2025.An image of th4e Ubajara sampling site 
on Mars, taken by NASA's Curiosity rover. April 10, 2025.
Curiosity's search focused on an area thought to have once contained 
water, fundamental to the formation of carbon-based life as we know 
itImage: NASA

"We cannot yet say that Mars ever harbored life, but our findings 
further support the evidence that Mars was a habitable world around the 
time that life of Earth originated," said Amy Williams, an 
astrobiologist and planetary scientist at the University of Florida, 
member of the Curiosity scientific team, and lead author of the study.

"To be clear, we have not found evidence for life with this study, but 
we're further refining the building-block molecules that were present on 
Mars," Williams said.

Building blocks of life preserved in rocks for billions of years
Researchers estimated that the rock samples analyzed dated to at least 
3.5 billion years ago. Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, took the 
samples in question in 2020.

One molecule identified, benzothiophene, has also been found in 
meteorites and asteroids.

"The same stuff that rained down on Mars from meteorites is what rained 
down on Earth, and it probably provided the building blocks for life as 
we know it," Williams said. "We're seeing the building blocks for life — 
prebiotic chemistry on Mars — preserved in these rocks for billions of 
years."

A reddish, rocky landscape resembling a sandstone formation on MarsA 
reddish, rocky landscape resembling a sandstone formation on Mars
In 2022, Curiosity identified high concentrations of carbon 12, another 
potenital indicator of life long ago, in the Gale CraterImage: 
NASA/ZUMA/picture alliance

Clay can preserve such organic molecules better than other minerals, 
explaining why the site was chosen as a search point. The Curiosity 
rover was dispatched carrying a chemical called TMAH, which can break 
apart organic matter to see what it's made up of. Such a test had not 
been conducted off Earth before.

Williams said that another molecule identified containing nitrogen "is a 
precursor to how DNA is eventually built."

Williams said it was ultimately not possible to tell if the organic 
matter came from "geologic processes, infall from meteorites, or life," 
but said the findings did suggest that "if complex organic matter from 
life were preserved on Mars, we should be able to detect it with current 
and upcoming rover instruments."

Was there life on Mars? New clues spark hope

05:33
Portrait photo of Mark Hallam.Portrait photo of Mark Hallam.
Mark Hallam News and current affairs writer and editor with DW since 2006.
@marks_hallam