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The possibility of life on other planets is always based on evaluating whether the key ingredients such as nitrogen that are essential to sustain life are present or not. For example, when NASA’s Curiosity discovered that nitrogen gas compounds were being released from within the Martian surface, it was described as “evidence that ancient Mars was habitable for life.”
Now, in a new study, scientists have found evidence indicating that nitrogen-containing solid organic compounds are present on the Martian surface.
The discovery was made by a team of scientists from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) by analyzing a 4 billion-year-old Mars meteorite. Known as ALH 84001, the four-pound meteorite was found in 1984 around the Allan Hills region of Antarctica.
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In previous studies, scientists have found organic carbon compounds in ALH 84001, but the new study reports the first discovery of nitrogen compounds. In their study published in Nature Communications, the scientists explain: “Here we report that the 4 billion-year-old carbonates (Ga) in the Martian meteorite, Allan Hills 84001, preserve organic compounds containing nitrogen (N) by developing a new technique for high speciation of N-chemistry in situ with high spatial resolution “.
Scientists think the organic materials may have been “locally synthesized and / or meteoritically delivered” after which they were preserved within the carbonate minerals of the meteorite since its arrival in the Noach era. They deciphered from this discovery that in the past, Mars must have had a humid environment rich in organic matter that could support life.
According to a report from the Earth-Life Science Institute, scientists believe this is the first solid evidence showing that the 4 billion-year-old Martian rock has organic compounds that contain nitrogen.
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