The Curiosity rover took this selfie on June 15, 2018, while in Gale Crater on Mars, which corresponds to the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
The longest molecules ever discovered on Mars have been found by NASA's Curiosity rover, and they may indicate the planet is full of signs of ancient life.
A 3.7-billion-year-old rock sample collected from a dry Martian lake bed called Yellowknife Bay was found to contain molecular chains containing up to 12 linked carbon atoms, according to a study published March 24 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
These long carbon chains are thought to have originated from molecules known as fatty acids, which on Earth are formed by biological activity. Although fatty acids can form without biological involvement, which is possible on Mars, their presence on the Red Planet suggests that signs of life may be hidden in its soil.
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