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While the Cumberland sample may contain longer chains of fatty acids, SAM is not designed to detect them. But SAMfs ability to spot these larger molecules suggests it could detect similar chemical signatures of past life on Mars if theyfre present, Williams said.
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gCuriosity is not a life detection mission,h Freissinet said. gCuriosity is a habitability detection mission to know if all the conditions were right c for life to evolve. Having these results, itfs really at the edge of the capabilities of Curiosity, and itfs even maybe better than what we had expected from this mission.h
Before sending missions to Mars, scientists didnft think organic molecules would be found on the red planet because of the intensity of radiation Mars has long endured, Glavin said.
Curiosity wonft return to Yellowknife Bay during its mission, but there are still pristine pieces of the Cumberland sample aboard. Next, the team wants to design a new experiment to see what it can detect. If the team can identify similar long-chain molecules, it would mark another step forward that might help researchers determine their origins, Freissinet said.
gThatfs the most precious sample we have on board c waiting for us to run the perfect experiment on it,h she said. gIt holds secrets, and we need to decipher the secrets.h
Briony Horgan, coinvestigator on the Perseverance rover mission and professor of planetary science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, called the detection ga big win for the whole team.h Horgan was not involved the study.
gThis detection really confirms our hopes that sediments laid down in ancient watery environments on Mars could preserve a treasure trove of organic molecules that can tell us about everything from prebiotic processes and pathways for the origin of life, to potential biosignatures from ancient organisms,h Horgan said.
Dr. Ben K.D. Pearce, assistant professor in Purduefs department of Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences and leader of the Laboratory for Origins and Astrobiology Research, called the findings garguably the most exciting organic detection to date on Mars.h Pearce did not participate in the research.
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DavidMes
- 25/4/5(y) 17:59 -
