There was enough organic carbon on Mars for life to exist - NASA scientists decoded data from Curiosity

Experts of NASA have spent several years deciphering data from the rover Curiosity, which measured the level of organic carbon on the Red Planet.

What we know

The rover conducted the study several years ago, and only now NASA scientists were able to establish that there used to be enough carbon on Mars for the emergence and existence of living organisms. Unfortunately, the experiment does not answer the question of whether there was life on the Red Planet.

The instrument used for the study was an instrument called Sample Analysis at Mars, installed on the rover Curiosity. It is a furnace with gas sensors. The rock samples from Mars were heated until they began a chemical reaction with oxygen. Due to the high energy consumption, the experiment could be performed only once.

As a result of the reaction in the chamber formed CO₂, which scientists used to estimate the carbon content. As it turned out, a minimum of 200-273 parts of organic carbon per million was found in the rock. In some parts of the Earth, lower amounts were recorded. For example, in the Atacami Desert.

Source: NASA