Gale Crater May Contain Simple Organics
A media firestorm erupted in November when Curiosity's project scientist John Grotzinger made a casual comment to a reporter. New data from the rover was going to be big, Grotzinger told NPR's Joe Palca, one for the history books. NASA was forced to backpedal on Grotzinger's tantalizing words, trying to downplay what Curiosity's secret big breakthrough was. But most people expected that the news could only be one thing: Curiosity had found organic carbon on Mars, a potential indication of ancient life.
When the agency finally held a press conference in December, the results were less than impressive. Curiosity had scooped the Martian soil, analyzed it with its internal laboratory, and found evidence for organic compounds. Far from a blockbuster, there-could-have-been-life-on-Mars announcement, the findings were presented in the cautious light of scientific inquiry. Yes, the research team had discovered some carbon. But it was bound in simple compounds that could have easily come from Earthly contamination or been formed during the sample analysis itself.
The finding was less than monumental but showed the science team that Curiosity's instruments worked as expected and would one day be able to deliver a more robust answer. Expectations may have been high but it would have been truly shocking if some random dust scooped from the surface had contained the clues to Mars' living past. In all likelihood, such evidence has disintegrated from the surface and, should it exist, scientists will need to dig deep to find it.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS