Curiosity Rover Finds Primeval Organic Molecules on Mars

            

            
           Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in its atmosphere from previous readings. I appears to fluctuate and it is now 10 times higher than last year. Further, Curiosity has detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory's drill.

            Curiosity detected organic chemicals in powder drilled from a rock dubbed Cumberland, the first definitive detection of organics in surface materials of Mars.

            These Martian organics could either have formed on Mars or been delivered to Mars by meteorites. Organic molecules, which contain carbon and usually hydrogen, are chemical building blocks of life, although they can exist without the presence of life.

            Curiosity's findings from analyzing samples of atmosphere and rock powder do not reveal whether Mars has ever harbored living organisms, but the findings do shed light on a chemically active modern Mars and on favorable conditions for life on ancient Mars.

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-mars-complex-organic-chemistry/35241/

Group (Chemistry): Ailet Reyes and Rene Piedra

Mars Petrified Sand Dunes. Coincidence? Unlikely!

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/mars-panorama-from-curiosity-shows-petrified-sand-dunes

         On August 27th, 2015 Curiosity’s Mast Camera was able to capture dozens of individual images combined into the photo you see above at the base of Mt. Sharp using two cameras. The color of the Mastcam mosaic was altered to resemble daytime lighting conditions on earth.

         These Mastcam photos show large-scale crossbedding in the sandstones where deposits of sand dunes were formed by wind, then cemented into rock. Curiosity has been closely examining the base of Mount Sharp for clues about the mountain’s past and the current environment. Researchers, in fact, are close to confirm that there is liquid water on the planet although in unknown amounts.

         Is it a coincidence that crossbedding like the one on Mars is also common in the sandstones of the U.S. Southwest? What will Curiosity find next?

         Biology Group: Ines Gonzales, Alexa Jauregui, Maria Rodriguez

NASA's Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock

As soon as the NASA team visualized this rock they backed up NASA’s Curiosity Mars to investigate this  high-silica target dubbed "Elk" in more detail. The decision was made after they analyzed data from two instruments, the laser-firing Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN), which show elevated amounts of silicon and hydrogen, respectively. The high levels of silica found indicate perfect condition for preserving ancient organic material, if present, so the science team wants to take a closer look.

"One never knows what to expect on Mars, but the Elk target was interesting enough to go back and investigate," said Roger Wiens, the principal investigator of the ChemCam instrument from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Provided by: Andy Chavez, Valentina d'Empaire, Victoria Lella.

Fixed Nitrogen on Mars.

For life to exist on Earth, the presence of nitrogen is a must. All life forms require it because it is critical for the formation of amino acids and other biomolecules. However, it needs to be fixed into other compounds, like nitrate (NO₃^-).

       The latest discovery by the Mars Curiosity Rover, Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), was that large amounts of nitrate in soil and rocks samples were determined. These samples were taken from three different locations that were near the landing site of the rover and all of them had fixed nitrogen. 

 
However, this discovery does not necessarily mean that it is evidence of Martian life. Nitrogen-nitrogen bonds of elemental nitrogen that actually exists as diatomic molecules could also be broken down by lightning, asteroid or comet impacts on the planet. It is believed that large amounts of fixed nitrogen could have been formed more than 3 billion years ago, during the period known as Late Heavy Bombardment. However, it could also be formed today. To support this statement, large amounts of nitrogen oxide (NO) are being detected in the atmosphere of Mars by Europe’s Mars Express orbiter. NO could also be a proposed as precursor of nitrate as well.

The Curiosity Rover is yet to answer countless questions or raise even more. We will keep you posted!

CHM 1046: Valentina d'Empaire, Victoria Lella, Andy Chavez