NASA's Curiosity Rover Measures Mars Ingredients for the First Time

Organic carbon is carbon that has hydrogen atoms bound to it. It is vital for the creation of and uses of organic molecules. Non-living resources can also contain organic carbon, but this does not necessarily prove that life is on Mars.

It can be formed from meteorites and volcanic eruptions, or in situ by surface reactions. While organic carbon was discovered on Mars, previous measurements only gave information about specific compounds or measured only a fraction. The new measurement shows the total amount of organic material in these rocks.

Although Mars’ surface seems inhospitable for life, evidence indicates that it was warmer than Earth billions of years ago. It had thicker atmospheres and liquid water, which could have flowed into rivers or oceans. Researchers believe Martian life could have evolved out of organic carbon, as liquid water is crucial for our understanding of life.

Astrobiology has been advanced through the study of Mars’ habitability, climate, and geology. Curiosity collected samples of 3.5 billion-year-old mudstone rock samples found at Gale Crater’s Yellowknife Bay. These rocks could have been the location of an ancient Mars lake. The material was then buried. It also contained organic matter, which was later integrated into mudstone.

The Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, (SAM), was used for the measurement. To slowly increase the temperature of the powdered rock, they were heated in an oven. The oxygen and heat were used to convert the rocks into carbon dioxide. We measured the carbon dioxide in order to determine the amount.

It was carried out in 2014. It took years to analyze the data in order to understand the data and put the results into the context of other Gale Crater finds. The experiment was too expensive to do once.

NASA says that the Gale Crater could support life other than water or organic carbon. It also had low acidity, chemical energy sources, and low pH. These elements, which are essential to biology, include oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. Scientists believe that Gale Crater could have provided a suitable habitat for living things if they were ever there.