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Mars Rover Curiosity And The Sample Analysis At Methane (NASA)

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Astrobiology is a branch of biology that studies life on earth and in space. The major objectives of astrobiology are; understanding how life began and how it evolves, whether life exists elsewhere in the universe, and what is the future of life on Earth (NASA). This field emerged in the 1960s with the popularity of space travel and the question of the origins of life. The field was fueled by human curiosity and excitement about finding life on another planet while being legitimized with the help of Joshua Lederberg (Kaufman).
The first major finding was of a chlorine-bearing methane molecule on Mars. This molecule was found by the Mars rover Curiosity’s drilling sample and the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite, by using a technique called pyrolysis-GCMS (Gronstal). Methane is an organic compound, meaning it is made with some of the same components that are needed to create life. In addition, Methane can be the by-product of biological processes, therefore its presence could mean that Mars could support life. However, alternate explanations could be that this organic matter came abiotic geological processes like serpentinization (Gronstal). …show more content…

These “building blocks of life” were found by NASA scientist’s Stardust spacecraft (Kaufman). These compounds could organize into self-replicating forms and even possibly organisms. Amino acids on rocks may seem insignificant because their occurrence is not uncommon in space, however some microorganisms like the chemolithoautotrophs can live on inorganic energy sources like minerals (NASA). By using information about extreme organisms on earth, scientists can compare their development with organic compounds found on space surfaces, and maybe discover how life

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