FINDS DIVERSE ORGANIC MATTER ON MARS

 

Latest Context

In a Martian crater, NASA's Perseverance rover found evidence of organic compounds, shedding light on Mars' possible habitability.

• The study, which was published in the journal Nature, shows that Mars' organic geochemical cycle is more intricate than previously assumed, suggesting that the planet has several sources of potential organic molecules.

Key Points

• Organic molecules were found at Jezero Crater using the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument on the rover.
• SHERLOC is a 24-hour operation that searches for minerals and organics using ultraviolet laser light. In SHERLOC, Raman spectroscopy is used.
• It operates by illuminating molecules and analysing the light scattered at various frequencies. It aids in identifying the substances that are present in a sample.
• Organic compounds have already been found in meteorites that have come from Mars and Gale Crater.
• Jezero Crater is an ancient lake basin with the potential to yield information about past life on Mars.

• Significance of Discovery:

• understanding the carbon cycle on Mars and looking for possible life clues there.
• Key building blocks of life on Earth are organic molecules, which are generally composed of carbon, hydrogen, and other elements including oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur.
• Only the Curiosity rover and the Mars Phoenix lander have been able to find organic carbon so far utilising techniques like gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and evolved gas analysis.

• Other Mars Missions: Mangalyaan (India); Hope (UAE); Tianwen-1 (China); Mars Express (ESA); Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey (NASA).
• The results imply that water may have been a crucial factor in the emergence of organic stuff on Mars and that there have been watery activities there.
• Jezero Crater, a former lake basin, exhibits a high potential for historical habitability due to the presence of minerals including carbonates, clays, and sulphates that may have preserved organic molecules and signs of ancient life.

Facts about Perseverance Rover

• As a part of NASA's Mars Exploration Programme, the Perseverance Rover was launched. Its goal is to investigate the Martian landscape and look for indications of both past and contemporary life on the planet. Jezero Crater is the place where it lands.
• Jezero Crater: Jezero Crater has a 45 km diameter. It is a fan-shaped geological formation that may have once housed a lake. Sedimentary rock, which formed as particles fused together in the formerly water-filled environment, is thought to contain traces of Martian history at this location.

 

 

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