{"id":4246,"date":"2022-01-19T13:27:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T13:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/19\/nasas-curiosity-finds-signs-of-ancient-life-on-mars-maybe-the-register\/"},"modified":"2022-01-19T13:27:08","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T13:27:08","slug":"nasas-curiosity-finds-signs-of-ancient-life-on-mars-maybe-the-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/19\/nasas-curiosity-finds-signs-of-ancient-life-on-mars-maybe-the-register\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Curiosity finds signs of ancient life on Mars \u2013 maybe \u2022 The Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NASA’s Curiosity rover has collected samples<\/a> of rock from the surface of Mars that are rich in a type of carbon associated with biological processes on Earth.<\/p>\n

Is it a sign of ancient life? Well\u2026 maybe. It could<\/i> be the result of methane having been released into the atmosphere of Mars by bacteria. That methane was then maybe converted into “larger, more complex molecules” by ultraviolet light, which rained down to the surface and were preserved (replete with distinctive carbon signature) in the rocks.<\/p>\n

At least that’s how it works on Earth. The explanation could also be non-biological. It could be down to the interaction of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere with ultraviolet light, or perhaps millions of years ago the solar system passed through a giant molecular cloud rich in the type of carbon detected.<\/p>\n

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