On Mars, NASA Finds ‘Organic’ Substances Linked to Life

 

The United States space agency says its Mars exploration vehicle has discovered chemical substances necessary for life.

Scientists reported that NASA’s Curiosity rover found large amounts of organic molecules¹ in 3.5 billion-year-old rock in an area called Gale² Crater³. The area on Mars is believed to have once contained a large lake.

The discovery of organic molecules suggests that ancient conditions on Mars may have supported life.

Ashwin Vasavada is a scientist working on the Curiosity project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He said the chances of being able to find signs of ancient life with future missions - if life was in fact present – “just went up.”

Jennifer Eigenbrode is an astrobiologist with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. She said there are three possible ways the organic material was created.

“The first one would be life, which we don’t know about. The second would be meteorites⁵. And the last one is geological processes, meaning the rock-forming processes themselves,” she said.

NASA announced that Curiosity also discovered sharp seasonal⁶ increases in methane⁷ gas in the Martian atmosphere. This could also support the case for life. Ninety-five percent of the methane gas found in Earth’s atmosphere is produced by biological activity. Methane can come from animal and plant life, as well as the environment.

However, researchers said it is too early to know if the methane on Mars is related to life. This is because the gas - just like organic molecules – can also be formed by geological processes.

Eigenbrode believes the latest discoveries give scientists a good reason to keep looking.

“I think that we need to give the search for life on Mars due diligence,” she said. “We need to go to places that we think are the most likely places to find it.”

NASA’s latest findings were announced during a press conference last week and also released in the publication Science.

NASA head wants astronauts in orbit “in perpetuity”

Earlier this week, NASA Administrator⁸ James Bridenstine met with reporters to discuss the agency’s goals. He said there will likely be major changes related to the International Space Station (ISS) program.

President Donald Trump’s recent budget requests for 2019 have called for ending space station funding by 2025.

The U.S. government estimated it has spent more than $75 billion on building and supporting the International Space Station. After the space shuttle program ended in 2011, the U.S. has paid Russia to transport its astronauts to the space station.

The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in 1998 and was completely finished in 2011. It has been used to collect information and carry out many experiments.

Bridenstine said NASA is already in talks with private companies about possibly taking over the space station after 2025. But he added that any changes would have to be agreed to by the other 21 nations involved in the project.

But no matter what happens with the space station, the NASA chief said the U.S. remains⁹ committed to keep sending astronauts into space for many years to come.

“There are kids graduating from high school this month, that their entire lives, we’ve had an astronaut in space,” Bridenstine said. “And we want that to live on in perpetuity, forever.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

rover – n. a small vehicle that can move over rough ground, often used on the surface of other planets

organic – adj. of, relating to, or created from living organisms

meteorite⁴ – n. piece of rock from outer space

due diligence – n. the detailed¹⁰ examination of something

graduate – v. earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

perpetuity – n. forever

1 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

2 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

3 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

4 meteorite   

n.陨石；流星

参考例句：

• The meteorite in Jilin Exhibition Hall is believed to be the largest in the world.吉林展览馆的陨石被认为是世界上最大的。
• The famous Murchison meteorite smashed into the Australian ground in 1969.1969年著名的默奇森陨石轰然坠落在澳大利亚。

5 meteorites   

n.陨星( meteorite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One theory about the existence of extraterrestrial life rests on the presence of carbon compounds in meteorites. 地球外存在生命的理论是基于陨星上存在碳化合物质这一事实的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

7 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。