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Subscribe to RSSAccording to NASA, powder from a rock found on Mars indicates the Red Planet may have been able to support microbes billions of years ago. NBC's Katie Wall reports.
Powder drilled out of a rock on Mars contains the best evidence yet that the Red Planet could have supported living microbes billions of years ago, the team behind NASA's Curiosity rover said Tuesday.
"I think this is probably the only definitively habitable environment that we have described and recorded," said David Blake, a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center who is the principal investigator for Curiosity's CheMin lab.
The findings are in line with what the scientists hoped to find when they sent the 1-ton, six-wheeled laboratory to Mars' Gale Crater. "It wasn't serendipity that got us here. It was the result of planning," Caltech's John Grotzinger, the $2.5 billion mission's project scientist, told reporters at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Tuesday.
Serendipity did, however, play a part in being able to find the evidence so soon, he said. Curiosity's handlers had planned to have the rover head for a 3-mile-high (5-kilometer-high) mountain in the middle of the crater. But when the rover landed, the science team decided to send Curiosity on a detour to a geologically interesting area in the opposite direction, nicknamed Yellowknife Bay. Preliminary readings showed that the area had been a riverbed or lake bed in ancient times.
Last month, the rover finally got a chance to drill into a Martian rock that was named John Klein, after a member of the mission team who died in 2011. Curiosity fed tablespoons of the ground-up gray powder into its two onboard chemical labs: CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) and SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars). The results were announced at Tuesday's news briefing.
Scientists said the powder contained the elemental ingredients of life — including sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon. More significantly, they found that clay minerals made up at least 20 percent of the sample. On Earth, these clays are produced when relatively fresh water reacts with igneous minerals such as olivine. The scientists also found calcium sulfate, which suggested that the water had a neutral or mildly alkaline balance.
Earlier NASA missions had found evidence that salty, acidic water was once present on Mars, but that extreme environment would have been challenging for today's Earth-type organisms. Curiosity's chemical analysis produced a different result: The water that was available during the formation of the rock at Yellowknife Bay, billions of years ago, could have supported the kind of life commonly found on Earth.
"We have found a habitable environment which is so benign and supportive of life that probably if this water was around, and you had been on the planet, you would have been able to drink it," Grotzinger said.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Ames
A side-by-side comparison shows the X-ray diffraction patterns of two samples collected by Curiosity. The left side shows data from a sample collected from a drift of windblown dust, and the right side shows data from the powder drilled out of the John Klein rock. The John Klein readings show an abundance of phyllosilicate, a class of clay minerals called smectites that form by the action of relatively pure and neutral pH water on minerals.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / MSSS
The left image shows Wopmay rock in Endurance Crater, as studied by NASA's Opportunity rover. The right image shows Sheepbed in Yellowknife Bay, as studied by Curiosity. Scientists say both rocks were formed in the presence of water, but the water at Wopnay was highly acidic and salty, while the water at Sheepbed had a more neutral pH and lower salinity.
The scientists said they were surprised to find a mixture of oxidized and non-oxidized chemicals, allowing for the type of chemistry that earthly microbes use to generate the energy they need for survival. This partial oxidation was first hinted at when the drill cuttings were revealed to be gray rather than red.
"The range of chemical ingredients we have identified in the sample is impressive, and it suggests pairings such as sulfates and sulfides that indicate a possible chemical energy source for microorganisms," SAM principal investigator Paul Mahaffy said in a NASA news release.
NASA said another drilled sample would be used to help confirm the chemical findings for several of the trace gases that were analyzed by the SAM instrument.
The current plan calls for Curiosity to conduct experiments in the Yellowknife Bay for weeks or months longer, and then begin a roughly 6-mile (10-kilometer) drive to the big mountain, known as Mount Sharp or Aeolis Mons. Scientists will look for further evidence of ancient organic chemistry hidden in the mountain's many layers of rock.
The primary aim of Curiosity's two-year primary mission is to find evidence of past habitability — in particular, organic carbon compounds that could have played a role in the chemistry of life billions of years ago. Grotzinger said Curiosity's scientists will focus on the systematic search for organic carbon now that they had "the issue of habitability in the bag."
NASA intends to follow up on Curiosity's findings with future Mars missions, including the $500 million MAVEN orbiter (due for launch this year), the $425 million InSight drill-equipped lander (set for 2016 launch) and another Curiosity-like rover that's scheduled to be sent out in 2020.
Trace the Curiosity rover's journey to Mars and see the pictures that the six-wheeled robot has sent back from the Red Planet.
More about Mars:
- Organics found, but are they from Mars?
- Radar reveals traces of huge Martian flood
- Cosmic Log archive on Mars
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
This story was originally published on Tue Mar 12, 2013 1:48 PM EDT
Leave a Comment:
Who cares? We waste money on looking for microbes on Mars rather than feeding humans on earth.
Stop this madness!
Just pretend it's a hoax, you'll feel better
Maybe someone would feed you if you spent less time complaining about smart people accomplishing useful things and did something productive yourself.
What is useful about this?
"Stop this madness!" -RAalf
Yeah, let's quit searching for Knowledge and go for IGNORANCE big-time! -joe
How is this a surprise?!
If our solar system is expanding away from our sun - then at one time, Mars was just as far away from the sun as Earth is now ... leading to "life as we know it" existing on Mars.
"If our solar system is expanding away from our sun"
You mean the universe, eh?
All this proves is that environments once existed on Mars that would have provided a good habitat for microorganisms. It does NOT mean that there was once life on Mars. But it is a good first step in the direction of the possibility of either finding existence of past life on Mars or even the existence of life currently on Mars. The Mars rock found in Antarctica is so far the closest thing we have to proof of the existence of life on Mars in ancient times, and that existence is very debatable. However, I do think that the fossilized structures found in the rock in the ALH "Mars Rock" are in fact evidence of single-celled microorganisms that once lived on Mars. In fact, it is very possible that life originated on Mars first, then seeded itself in the more hospitable environment on Earth. Life throve on Earth, but died out on Mars. It will take a while to confirm such findings, but I believe that eventually, they will find such evidence.
I personally Believe the will find Illegal mexicans there . Cause they every where ya look
"I personally Believe the will find Illegal mexicans there . Cause they every where ya look" -cliff-1955574
English is NOT your first language, eh cliffy? -joe
Tell that bit&h to keep digging, find some gold on that shi* hole planet and pay down our debt.
wonder when they will find life in america?
Who took the picture on the main page of this story? The whole rover can be seen,but there is no connecting arm of any kind that would be holding a camera. Oops!
Actually there is. This subject was covered a few weeks ago. The picture segment of the arm holding the camera has not been included in the finished processed image. This system doesn't work the same as your cell phone does when you take pictures of yourself
Google Curiosity and read, read, read. You can answer your own questions about this if you just try.
this can't be because sarah "midnight ride" palin and moochelle bakedman say the earth and universe are closer to sixty years (60) old. take it from the horses mouth. those two can't be wrong. maybe it was 6 minutes old , like a hard boiled egg. i'm sure they could clarify this problem.
and... maybe your mom and dad looked at you in the hospital nursery and gave you your screen name.
can't be. even vacuum tube computers didn't exist at that time. btw "bob" is a real original name, but i guess you don't have much of an imagination. just poor old "bob".
Bob stands for.
charlie --- maybe boring bob picked the name because it's spelled the same foreward and backward. in that way he could always remember it. it looks the same from the front and the ass end. he could also look the same from the front and the ass end.
mrpotatohead727,,,, maybe bobs' last name is radar.
Every four or so weeks like clockwork the little billion dollar radio car finds some new "possible" sign of life on Mars. And then the story goes away until the next "find". Gotta keep that budget money for the next wasted space adventure rolling in somehow. A big giant freaking rock, thats what they will find, and for a couple billion dollars less, they could have just asked most people.
Go to Europa - there are fish there.
Why don't those who are interested go and leave the rest of us alone with this nonsense.
Why don't you quit reading and responding if all this bothers you so much.
Because its his dang money out there also. Rex...
Why don't they just drop the Giffords shag your wife around to make some money guy off in the AZ desert with his AR-15 and let him tell his martian astronaught stories so we don't have to watch him on the no guns for more money trail.
Since there Is a NASA base on Mars they should know.
let them go to mars or where ever and don't bother us. It's rubbish, Mojave desert, whatever!!!
Yep, whatever!
They will discover a glory hole full of Candy Pop Rocks.
could have supported living microbes billions of years ago That's painting with a pretty wide brush.
As an archeaologist and a scientist, the space agency has to justify a hugh expenditure allowance. No better way to justify spending expenditures than to create public intrest with outlandish claims. Stating alein lifeforms as being billions of years old from the drilling scraps of simple rock are laughable and sadly an insult to our intelligence. The gullibility of the american public never ceases to amaze me as they grasp at ridiculous theories made by others just because they have the word NASA SCIENTIST in front of their name. Remember not to overlook the words WE THINK...MAYBE.....PERHAPS....CHANCE..and so on when reading absurd claims presented as facts. NASA claims must be examined carefully before accepting them.
Well, they're still a whole lot smarter than you robert. Nothing has been presented as fact, something you woudl know if you read the article and are actually a scientist.
maybe Obummer's checking out a new place to outsource American jobs to? ... or look for registered Dumbocraps for ACORN to sign up???
If I apply the same scrutiny to your post, Robert, it would seem that you make several claims that are outright false and seek to paint the ordinary, transparent pace of discovery as a malicious plot. NASA's claims pass muster. Your egotistic cynicism seems to be more potent than the public's gullibility.
"As an archeaologist and a scientist,..."
So, still looking for those rare '13 Liberty nickels and '43 copper pennies in the Geo.W. Bush elementary school (est. 2010) playground in DimeBox (NOT to Be Confused with NEW Dimebox), Texas, eh Bob? -joe
One of the most expensive welfare programs.
We're broke $$$$$$$$
Don't get too excited. Get back to reality soon
Don't even think about some stupid taxpayer funded trip for something we already know.
To it to your exalted leader Rob
WHO CARES??!! I'd rather see the blue angles! Blue angles=$40 mil...Mars rover=2.5billion..BullSH+T!!Who cares if there was life on mars billions of years ago!! REALLY!
I wonder if they'll find Obummer's birth certificate or Joe Biden's high school diploma up there?
Mittwit's tax returns and Lyin' Ryan's real marathon times too
I don't know why we are still messing with Mars. If it was capable of life years ago, it's no longer capable of life. If the technology gets to the point where we can create artificial sustainable atmospheres, it would make more sense to use Saturn or Jupiter. I guess scientists have to occupy their time until the anticipated New Horizons probe flies by the dwarf planet Pluto in a couple of years!
Barney Frank wants to use Uranus.
Do you mean one of their moons, John? Saturn and Jupiter are both gas planets - and massive (compared to Earth), which means huge gravity - if there even was a surface to walk on...
" If the technology gets to the point where we can create artificial sustainable atmospheres" -john
Whelp! You're waaay behind the ball aint-cha john boy?
Science says that we are in possession of those technologies right now.
Greenhouse gases to raise the temp, keep the CO2 airbourne and the water liquid. Add some blue-greens for O2. Takes a couple of hundred years ...... but so? -joe
WHO CARES??!! I'd rather see the blue angles! Blue angles=$40 mil...Mars rover=2.5billion..BullSH+t! Who cares if there was life on mars billions of years ago!! REALLY!
pbc, we saw your bold-typed post the first time. I'll answer your question if you'll quit posting this. Lots of people care. Mostly though, it's the ones who know how to spell and use proper punctuation.
pbc13: Ask our President why he is against giving tours of the White House. Same reason he cut out the Blue Angels. He can't get his way on saving less than 3% of our annual debt by raising taxes. He throwing a temper tantrum. Wait until they get rid of Obamacare. He will be blowing out snot all over the place.
Sorry but I don't see any Dunkin Donuts store in those pictures so I'll just stay right here on good ole terra firma. I think these scientists are a little wacky doodle thinking they can start a colony on mars. I think these scientists are just trying to justify their existence. Seems they find water on every planet they look at.
" Seems they find water on every planet they look at."
Gee, mey-be the prerequisite for life IS damn near EVERYWHERE. But then it sounds like that YOU are about to show us YOUR evidence to the contrary, eh ? -joe
Enough of this foolish endeavor that's wasting my tax dollars! So what if there was life there one billion years ago, how about using the money to detect and destroy life ending asteroids nearby. Mars is not capable of sustaining life because it has a weak atmosphere and no magnetic field(ie solar radiation is not good).
So actually they have found that conditions were very favorable for life.....but so far haven't found anything conclusive.....Perhaps soon they may find some evidence of past life that can positively be identified as only coming from previous life forms......Then Phil Plat can pay me for future projecting him to that point.....