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Curiosity Detects "Tough" Organics on Mars

NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered ancient organic molecules on Mars, embedded within sedimentary rocks that are billions of years old.

June 07, 2018

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NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered ancient organic molecules on Mars, embedded within sedimentary rocks that are billions of years old.

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NASA/GSFC

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This image from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows roughly spherical features.
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Tracks from the first drives of NASA's Curiosity rover are visible in this image captured by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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On "Vera Rubin Ridge," to determine whether dust coatings are hiding rocks' hematite content, the Mastcam on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this Sept. 17, 2017, image of a rock surface that had been brushed with the rover's Dust Removal Tool. The purplish tint may indicate fine-grained hematite.
Curiosity Checks Under the Dust on a Martian Rock

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