A photo from open sources
The chances that the Curiosity rover will drive up to some stone and find organics, vanishingly small. But he still will try. Martian meteorite recovered from Antarctic of ice, hinted to scientists that the surface of the Red Planet abounds with substances associated with those used in household bleach. This increases the likelihood that carbon-containing compounds (life metrics) disintegrated into the result of chemical reactions, and therefore we have to dig deeper, if we want to find signs of ancient life on Mars. “We take the liberty of claiming that on the surface of the planet no organic matter, says Sam Kunavz of the University Tufts (USA). – They are much further, or perhaps even inside. sedimentary rocks. ” 
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Life is much deeper, dear Curiosity (NASA photo). Mr Kunavz and his colleagues studied the Martian meteorite EETA 79001, found in 1979 in Antarctica, where it fell 12 thousand years ago. Its outer layers, most likely, were polluted by the earth during this time. material, so researchers cracked the object to climb inside. They found a white substance that contained a kind of nitrate used by some terrestrial bacteria as fuel. Comparing the ratio of isotopes, specialists determined that the material is not earthly. Presence also established a small amount of chloride minerals, and they are also from Mars. A few years ago, the Phoenix lander found similar compounds (perchlorates) in Martian soil. By the way, they too can nourish microorganisms. In the course of relevant reactions perchlorates can be obtained from chlorides, but in an intermediate step are oxychlorins – a class of strong oxidizing agents that make up household bleach. Moreover, ultraviolet radiation The sun and cosmic rays are able to turn perchlorates back into oxychlorins. In the presence of even a small amount of water, these whitening substances destroy any organic compound. it bad news for the Curiosity rover that studies the surface Mars in search of traces of ancient life. The rover is in the crater which once was a large lake, and already found convincing evidence of water flows on the Red Planet. So what Curiosity did very well, that he took the drill with him installation. Although it can only go 6.4 cm deep, this may be enough to find the organics preserved inside rocks where it was protected from processes leading to the formation of oxychlorins. However, perhaps the top layer appeared much later, and therefore have to drill deeper. Research results were represented at a meeting of the American Assistance Association the development of science. Prepared by NewScientist.
Water Life Mars Mars Rover Curiosity
