IS there lard on Mars? NASA's Curiosity Rover has detected what may be a fatty acid molecule in the soil of the Red Planet, although it is not clear whether it is biological in origin.
The find was presented by David Glavin, who works on the rover's SAM instrument, at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, last week.
SAM analyses gases released by heating samples of rock, and the results are interpreted by matching the data to compounds analysed on Earth.
One SAM reading seems to relate to a type of fatty acid molecule. These are important for life because organisms use them to build cell membranes, but they could have a non-biological origin.
Glavin also confirmed previous hints from SAM of an organic compound called chlorobenzene. Again, this might not be a sign of life, but it suggests that complex organic molecules can survive on the surface of Mars, upping the chances of future missions finding microbes if they are there.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Martian fat"
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