NASA’s Perseverance rover has found an intriguing menagerie of organic molecules in a Martian crater, but their source remains unclear.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has found an intriguing menagerie of organic molecules in a Martian crater, but their source remains unclear.
Interesting article. They buried the lede a bit - this is the crux of the discovery:
…which means that the likelihood of organic life having existed there has increased. Also, the fact that:
By finding the same compounds in multiple locations, this indicates that they weren’t the results of a single meteor impact, but likely formed on Mars. They also indicate that water was more abundant than in the past.
It makes me wonder what we’ll find beneath the surface, where you could have underground aquifers and micro-climates that with the potential to support living organisms.