NASA
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Illustration of Jezero Crater on the planet Mars.
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Nationalgeographic.co.id—explorer robot NASA’s Perseverance made a surprising discovery. Amid a number of findings announced last week at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, scientists have revealed that Kawah Lake on Mars formed from molten volcanic magma. In addition, they also conveyed that organic molecules have been found in the rock and dust at the bottom of the crater.
This is by no means evidence of life on Mars. Organic compounds are simply compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen bonds, and these can be formed through a number of non-biological processes. Indeed, organic compounds have been discovered on Mars before, either by explorer robot Curiosity and the Mars Express orbiter.
But the findings suggest that Martian rocks can well preserve these compounds, which in turn suggests that biological organic matter can also be preserved. And that is quite encouraging info.
Also Read: Beautiful Scenery on Planet Mars: Frozen Crater to Giant Volcano
“Curiosity also found organic material at its landing site inside Gale Crater,” said planetary scientist Luther Beegle of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Science Alert.
The new detection was carried out using a new instrument at Perseverance called Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals, or SHERLOC for short.
“What SHERLOC adds to this story is its ability to map the spatial distribution of organics within rocks and relate those organics to the minerals found there,” explains Beegle. “This helps us understand the environment in which the organics formed. Further analysis needs to be done to determine production methods for the organics identified.”
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