Article Dans Une Revue Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Année : 2025

Long-chain alkanes preserved in a Martian mudstone

Daniel P. Glavin
Cyril Szopa
Maëva Millan
Andrew Steele
Ophélie McIntosh
Felipe Gómez
Benito Prats

Résumé

Organic molecules preserved in ancient Martian rocks provide a critical record of the past habitability of Mars and could be chemical biosignatures. Experiments conducted by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument onboard the Curiosity rover have previously reported several classes of indigenous chlorinated and sulfur-containing organic compounds in Gale crater sedimentary rocks, with chemical structures of up to six carbons. Here, we report the detection of decane (C 10 H 22 ), undecane (C 11 H 24 ), and dodecane (C 12 H 26 ) at the tens of pmol level, released from the Cumberland drilled mudstone sample, using a modified SAM analytical procedure optimized for the detection of larger organic molecules. Laboratory experiments support the hypothesis that the alkanes detected were originally preserved in the mudstone as long-chain carboxylic acids. The origin of these molecules remains uncertain, as they could be derived from either abiotic or biological sources.

Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
freissinet-et-al-long-chain-alkanes-preserved-in-a-martian-mudstone.pdf (1.24 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte
Licence

Dates et versions

hal-05039697 , version 1 (19-04-2025)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

Caroline Freissinet, Daniel P. Glavin, P. Douglas Archer, Samuel Teinturier, Arnaud Buch, et al.. Long-chain alkanes preserved in a Martian mudstone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025, 122 (13), pp.e2420580122. ⟨10.1073/pnas.2420580122⟩. ⟨hal-05039697⟩
234 Consultations
115 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

  • More