Scientists may be one step closer in their hunt for signs of past life on Mars after the Curiosity rover’s latest find.
Nearly a year ago, the car-sized robot – one of two NASA rovers roaming the red planet – came across an intriguing rock sample that contained some interesting features. On the rock, Curiosity’s instruments detected organic compounds that on Earth are most often produced by living things.
Though geological processes can also make the material present, researchers concluded in a study published Feb. 4 in the journal Astrobiology that such non-biological processes could not be the only factor. The discovery widens the door for the possibility that life once existed on Mars, though the scientists stopped short of definitively making that claim.
SouthAyrshireCouncil on
Is this just another study saying the same thing as the one last year?
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Scientists may be one step closer in their hunt for signs of past life on Mars after the Curiosity rover’s latest find.
Nearly a year ago, the car-sized robot – one of two NASA rovers roaming the red planet – came across an intriguing rock sample that contained some interesting features. On the rock, Curiosity’s instruments detected organic compounds that on Earth are most often produced by living things.
Though geological processes can also make the material present, researchers concluded in a study published Feb. 4 in the journal Astrobiology that such non-biological processes could not be the only factor. The discovery widens the door for the possibility that life once existed on Mars, though the scientists stopped short of definitively making that claim.
Is this just another study saying the same thing as the one last year?
Slowest drip in the universe