Gallery: Images of Mars from the Curiosity rover The Curiosity
rover may have found organic compounds on Mars, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory director Charles Elachi said in Rome on Wednesday,
according to multiple reports. "Perhaps Curiosity has found
simple organic molecules," Elachi said at La Sapienza
University, according to La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno. "It's
preliminary data that must be checked (on) organic, not
biological, molecules." The statement figures to set off a new
round of speculation and excitement about the possibility of
life on Mars. Elachi, however, made clear that Curiosity cannot
find life. The rover's sample-analysis instruments can detect
organic compounds like methane, which contain carbon, the basic
building block for life. Even if Curiosity finds methane, it has
no way to confirm it came from a biological organism. The
compound also forms through chemical reactions and has been
found on meteorites. Earlier this month, Curiosity project
scientist John Grotzinger told NPR that recent dat