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A fresh look at a 4 billion-year-old Martian meteorite has revealed nitrogen-containing organic compounds, the first real evidence of fixed nitrogen molecules on the Red Planet.
Nitrogen is essential to all known life forms, and while there is currently no evidence to suggest that this discovery was created by any biological unit, it leaves open the possibility that Mars was once a wet planet rich in organic matter. . – even a blue planet – the perfect place for life to start.
“Early in the history of the Solar System, Mars probably received a large amount of organic matter, for example, from carbon-rich meteorites, comets, and dust particles,” explains chemist Atsuko Kobayashi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
“Some of them may have dissolved in the brine and become trapped inside the carbonates.”
It’s hard to say how these organic nitrogen-containing compounds may have arisen, but regardless of the explanation, the results suggest that Mars may have been more Earth-like and hospitable than it is now, and may have had its own nitrogen cycle. . .
“Whatever the origin, the presence of reduced, organic nitrogen on early / mid Mars Mars indicates the importance of the Martian nitrogen cycle,” the authors write.
The meteorite in question was launched from Mars approximately 16 million years ago, likely by a meteorite impact, and has since survived unfathomable stretches of time and space.
Named ALH84001, it was found in the Allan Hills of Antarctica in 1984 and has already become quite famous in the world of science. It contains orange colored carbonate materials, which appear to come from some kind of salty liquid on Mars, about 4 billion years ago.
Over the years, some scientists have claimed to find bacterial-like microbial fossils in this rock, but there are other non-biological explanations that could also explain its presence.
Martian meteorites are some of the best clues we have to the history of the Red Planet, but since these rocks have landed on Earth, it is difficult to say how much of them is still truly Martian.
Land pollution has been a serious problem in the past, but now, using new techniques and cutting-edge technology, the researchers are confident that the detected nitrogen-containing organic compounds are “most likely of Martian origin.”
Nearby igneous rock samples showed no detectable nitrogen, suggesting that these organic molecules were only in the carbonate of the meteorite.
Trapped here for 4 billion years and preserved in space, the discovery only shows how long the possible evidence of life can sometimes survive given the right opportunities.
While NASA’s Curiosity Rover has detected a form of nitrogen on Mars, as well as several other organic compounds, it is difficult to carry out and verify all of this technical work from so far away. On Earth, we can be much more careful, ensuring that we are testing the right places with the right methods.
“Several carbonate grains were separated from a rock fragment of ALH 84001, using silver double-sided tape, allowing us to investigate the interior of the individual carbonate grains,” the authors explain.
Obviously, this careful handling is not something the Mars Rover is doing. Thus, meteorites like ALH84001 could provide us with an alternative, allowing scientists to further investigate the history of this planet and its potential to sustain life, without having to go there.
The study was published in Nature’s Communications.
