Science, Technology and Society 361: "Mars Exploration" -- Fall 2010

Friday, December 21, 2007

Building Blocks Of Life Formed On Mars

Organic compounds with carbon and hydrogen and the building blocks of life. By analysis the Martian meteor Allan Hills 84001 scientists have shown that the building blocks of life on Earth were present on early Mars. Scientists had previously thought that these compounds were brought to mars through a collision with a comet, but a new study comparing the meteor to similar rocks formed in Norway has found that volcanic conditions on Earth one million years ago may have been very similar to those on Mars when their rock was initially formed. These rocks form when volcanoes erupt under freezing conditions, creating a unique process that results in a very specific rock type. This is the first study to date that has shown that Mars had the capability to form organic compounds. Scientists believe the meteor could have formed in one of two ways. First, through a volcanic eruption at freeze temperatures. Or second, through the composition of organic compounds just an ejection from the Martian surface following a huge impact.


http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Building_Blocks_Of_Life_Formed_On_Mars_999.html

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