| Scientists have discovered exciting new evidence that life could have developed on Mars. Interestingly, it comes from fresh analysis of the same meteorite in which Nasa once said they had found fossils of alien microbes.
Furthermore, they say it suggests life can form on any cold, rocky world in the universe. A team from the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory in Washington has made a detailed analysis of organic material and minerals in the meteorite, called Allan Hills 84001. They compared the results with data from similar rocks found in Svalbard, Norway which were created in volcanoes that erupted a million years ago. Team leader Andrew Steele said last night: “Organic material occurs within tiny spheres of carbonate minerals in both the Martian and Earth rocks. “We found that the organic material is closely associated with the iron oxide mineral magnetite, which is the key to understanding how these compounds formed.” Colleague Hans Amundsen said: “The results of this study show that volcanic activity in a freezing climate can produce organic compounds. This implies that building blocks of life can form on cold rocky planets throughout the universe.” |
