July 12, 2018
NASA announced last month that Mars has complex organic molecules, which could point to current or past life on the planet. There’s a lot of work to be done before we can understand the significance of this discovery, but some researchers have also started wondering why the discovery took so long. It turns out that NASA might have discovered and accidentally destroyed organic molecules on Mars back in the 1970s.
NASA May Have Accidentally Destroyed Evidence of Organics on Mars 40 Years Ago
Scientists long expected organic molecules to be present on Mars if for no other reason than carbon-rich meteorites frequently hit the planet. However, the Viking landers which touched down on the red planet in 1976 found no trace of organics in their soil sample instruments. This was surprising at the time, and we now know the findings were inaccurate. So, what happened?
A new analysis of the Viking data focuses on other compounds that may have affected the results. In 2008, the Phoenix lander confirmed the presence of perchlorate on Mars. This chlorine-oxygen salt is used in the production of fireworks and propellants because it’s a powerful oxidizing agent that can be explosive under the right conditions.
The presence of perchlorate is important because the Viking landers used a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer to analyze soil samples. That instrument heats material in order to determine the chemical composition, but heating perchlorate in the presence of organic molecules will destroy the organics. So, it’s possible NASA was on the verge of making this momentous discovery decades ago, but the lander burned up all the evidence.
NASA May Have Accidentally Destroyed Evidence of Organics on Mars 40 Years Ago
So, that was the hypothesis, but a lack of organic molecules in the Viking data isn’t a smoking gun. The researchers turned to more recent findings from Curiosity, which indicated Mars has chlorobenzene in its soil as well. This compound appears when organics are oxidized by perchlorate. The team suspected that Viking might have also produced chlorobenzene from burning up organic molecules in its sample collector. They looked back at the original Viking data and confirmed that, yes, it also detected chlorobenzene.
This is not definitive proof, but it has many researchers convinced that NASA was tantalizingly close to discovering organics on Mars 40 years ago. That could have changed our approach to studying the planet over the intervening years, but it’s hard to account for all eventualities when your scientific instruments are millions of miles away.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.