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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

NASA may have burned best proof of life on Mars by accident over 40 years ago [usatoday.com]

Viking landers sent to Mars in 1976 to search for organic matter reported finding nothing, a conclusion that shocked scientists at the time. New research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets [wiley.com] [DOI: 10.1029/2018JE005544] [DX [doi.org]], suggests the Vikings' main instrument might have actually discovered the organic matter but burned it while collecting soil samples, an article in New Scientist [newscientist.com] notes.

The primary instrument on the Viking landers, a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, used heat to try and find these molecules. That was big a mistake. Because of a now-known chemical in the soil perchlorate, the landers would have destroyed any organics in the process. NASA's Phoenix lander found perchlorate on Mars in 2008, Space.com [space.com] notes.

Perchlorate on Mars [wikipedia.org].

Previously: Organic Matter Found on Mars [soylentnews.org]

Related: NASA Discovers Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars [soylentnews.org]
UV Radiation and Perchlorates Could be a Toxic Combination for Potential Mars Bacteria [soylentnews.org]
Study Finds Evidence of More Organic Material on Ceres [soylentnews.org]
Complex Organic Molecules Found on Enceladus [soylentnews.org]

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