Discovered Earth's 'living material' on another planet

Curiosity rover, NASA's self-propelled Mars exploration robot has discovered a form of organic matter similar to that found in fungi and ancient microorganisms on Earth.

The research team, led by Dr. Schulze-Makuch, a biologist from Washington State University and Dr. Jacob Heinz from Berlin University of Technology (Germany), said what NASA's life-hunting robot has found. is thiophenes, an organic substance. On Earth, thiophenes are found in white truffles, ancient microbial fossils, even in coal and crude oil.

Mars has many strange forms of organic matter, there are similarities with Earth - (photo: DAILY EXPRESS).

So scientists believe that the presence of thiophenes is evidence of life that once existed on early Mars. Notably, thiophenes are just one of many strange forms of organic matter that the robot robot NASA has found in red planetary sediments.

Research published in Astrobiology shows that thiophenes represent a biological process most likely associated with bacteria. Does not exclude the non-biological origin of this organic matter, which is brought by a mysterious meteorite. However, based on earlier evidence of Mars history, the thiophenes hypothesis that originated from Martian life is much stronger.

Specifically, studies show that 3 billion years ago, Mars was warmer and wetter. This weather stimulates bacteria to create a process of reducing sulfate, creating thiophenes .

To make things clearer, the team is looking forward to another "life-hunting warrior" of NASA, Rosalind Franklin , due for release in July this year. When it comes to Mars, it will carry the Mars Organic Molecular Analyzer (MOMA), which allows the collection of larger molecules to look at carbon and sulfur isotopes, helping them "see" better birth. Mars objects in the past.

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