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https://www.sciencealert.com/mars-organi...tudy-finds
EXCERPTS: In 2025, scientists reported the discovery of long-chain organic molecules called alkanes in the ancient mudstones of Mars.
Now, in a new study, a team led by Alexander Pavlov of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center argues that their inferred original abundance of these molecules, before millions of years of radiation destroyed much of them, is difficult to explain by non-biological processes alone.
That does not mean that the detected alkanes are evidence of life on Mars; the conclusion relies on modeling how radiation breaks down organic material over time. However, the finding does suggest that the origin of these molecules warrants closer inspection.
The interesting thing about the alkanes found in the Martian mudstone is that they could be fragments of long-chain fatty acids, which on Earth are produced largely – but not exclusively – by life.
The initial Curiosity sample showed alkanes at concentrations of around 30 to 50 parts per billion, which isn't particularly high. Pavlov and his colleagues asked two questions: could there once have been more of them in the stone? And if so, where could they have come from?
[...] It's been well established that Mars hosts many different kinds of organic molecules. The question now is what they are telling us about habitability – or lack thereof... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: In 2025, scientists reported the discovery of long-chain organic molecules called alkanes in the ancient mudstones of Mars.
Now, in a new study, a team led by Alexander Pavlov of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center argues that their inferred original abundance of these molecules, before millions of years of radiation destroyed much of them, is difficult to explain by non-biological processes alone.
That does not mean that the detected alkanes are evidence of life on Mars; the conclusion relies on modeling how radiation breaks down organic material over time. However, the finding does suggest that the origin of these molecules warrants closer inspection.
The interesting thing about the alkanes found in the Martian mudstone is that they could be fragments of long-chain fatty acids, which on Earth are produced largely – but not exclusively – by life.
The initial Curiosity sample showed alkanes at concentrations of around 30 to 50 parts per billion, which isn't particularly high. Pavlov and his colleagues asked two questions: could there once have been more of them in the stone? And if so, where could they have come from?
[...] It's been well established that Mars hosts many different kinds of organic molecules. The question now is what they are telling us about habitability – or lack thereof... (MORE - missing details)