In the new study, the researchers focused on the organic compounds of the meteorite, which weighs about 7 kg. By discovering its compounds, scientists will get an answer related to understanding whether the red planet
A meteorite that came to us from Mars and crashed in Morocco in 2011 promises to reveal tremendous new information about the planet because it contains a diverse content of organic compounds, including some that have never been seen on the neighboring planet before. Scientists hope the findings will help better understand the potential for life on Mars, past and future.
According to the report in Ynet, the Tissint meteorite, which crashed in the Tata region of Morocco on July 18, 2011, is one of five Martian meteorites that were monitored during their fall to Earth. Parts of it have been found scattered throughout the desert about 30 km from the city after which it is named – Tissint, and some of them are exhibited in many museums in the world.
In the new study, the researchers focused on the organic compounds of the meteorite, which weighs about 7 kg. By discovering its compounds, scientists will get an answer related to understanding whether the red planet, which is the fourth in the solar system, was a habitable region in the past, as well as deepening knowledge about the geological history of the Earth.
Of particular interest is the abundance of organomeganesium compounds, a group of organic molecules never before seen on Mars, which offer new insights into the high-pressure and temperature geochemistry that formed the deep interior of the second-smallest planet in the solar system (only larger than Mercury). It indicates a link between the carbon cycle and the evolution of its minerals.
The researchers add that the samples that will be brought back from Mars in future missions would provide an unprecedented amount of information about the composition, stability and dynamics of organic compounds in the Martian environment.
