--- title: "NASA Rover Detects Organic Molecules on the Surface of Mars" description: "A team of researchers successfully tested a sample of Martian dirt by directing NASA's Curiosity rover to mix it with chemical reagents inside a cup." date: "2021-11-02" modified: "2021-11-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-rover-organic-molecules-mars" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "curiosity" - "Curiosity rover" - "mars" - "NASA" --- # NASA Rover Detects Organic Molecules on the Surface of Mars ![A team of researchers successfully tested a sample of Martian dirt by directing NASA's Curiosity rover to mix it with chemical reagents inside a cup.]() *\Image: NASA\* A team of researchers successfully tested a sample of Martian dirt, first scooped up by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover in March 2017, by directing the rover mix it with chemical reagents inside a cup. This mixture then released organic molecules which NASA has never detected on the surface of Mars ever before, [*Inverse* reports](). While it's an exciting discovery, it falls short of demonstrating that carbon-based lifeforms once lived on the surface of the Red Planet. It is, however, a step in that direction. "This experiment was definitely successful," Maëva Millan, postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center and lead author of a [new study]() published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, told *Inverse*. "While we haven’t found what we were looking for, biosignatures, we showed that this technique is really promising," she added. The experiment "has expanded the inventory of molecules present in Martian samples and demonstrated a powerful tool to further enable the search for polar organic molecules of biotic or prebiotic relevance," Millan and her team concluded in their paper. The two chemicals most prominently found in the mixture were benzoic acid and ammonia, both possible indicators of ancient life. "One of the things that we were trying to look for \[when searching for\] organic molecule on Mars is to understand the past habitability of Mars and to look for bioindicators," Millan told *Inverse*. The team is now hoping to find the molecules' "parents," or where they came from. Millan and her team suggest in their paper that they could be the result of geological processes. It's [not the first time]() Curiosity has detected organic molecules in Martian soil, but the new discovery is expanding the list of organic molecules detected by NASA. The news comes after an international team of astrobiologists [detected a presence of "thiophenes]()," which are special compounds found in coal, crude oil and white truffles back on Earth, after analyzing samples picked up by Curiosity. The researchers suggested in March 2020 that the thiophenes could be a sign of ancient life on Mars, but more research is still needed. Meanwhile, Millan and her team are hoping NASA's Perseverance rover will shed more light on the organic molecules. **READ MORE:** [NASA just found these organic molecules on Mars for the first time]() \[*Inverse*\] **More on Curiosity:** *[Scientists Say NASA’s Mars Rover Is on the Site of Ancient Ponds, Not a Huge Lake]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()