Organic carbon from Mars, but not biological Scientific findings
indicate that the carbon was created during volcanism on Mars
and show that Mars has been doing organic chemistry for most of
its history. May 24, 2012 Molecules containing large chains of
carbon and hydrogen — the building blocks of all life on Earth —
have been the targets of missions to Mars from Viking to the
present day. While these molecules have previously been found in
meteorites from Mars, scientists have disagreed about how this
organic carbon was formed and whether or not it came from Mars.
This is how Mars appeared to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars
Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle system December 25, 2003, the
day that Beagle 2 and Mars Express reached the red planet. Image
is provided courtesy of NASA Image Exchange A new paper led by
Carnegie's Andrew Steele provides strong evidence that this
carbon did originate on Mars, although it is not biological.
These findings give researchers insight into the chemical
processes taking p