Consortium Study of Organic Matter in Mars Meteorites

Jacobs Technology Inc., Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

Many spacecraft have gone to Mars; none has returned samples to the Earth. The only samples of material from Mars that we can study here on Earth are the Mars meteorites. Organic matter has been found in some of the Mars meteorites, but scientists cannot agree on when, where, and how the organic matter formed. The investigators will study a sample of six Mars meteorites to learn about the composition and structure of the organics. This research will provide answers on how carbon in the young Mars formed and changed with time. These answers can then be used to address questions about how organic material formed on the young Earth, which places in the Solar System can host life, and what processes lead to the formation of life. This research serves the national interest by advancing our understanding of the processes that create life in and beyond the Solar System. The investigators will give at least two lessons on this study every year though NASA's Johnson Space Center's Classroom Connection Webinars, reaching 500 - 1700 students for each lesson. These lessons are also recorded. The investigators also interact with visiting educators through tours of the laboratory facilities. Mars meteorites are the only samples of the Martian crust currently available for laboratory analysis. This study will investigate the nature and origin of organic matter present within a suite of Mars meteorites. Although the presence of likely indigenous organic matter has been established in some Mars meteorites, scientists do not agree on when, where or how such matter formed. The answers to these questions are critical to understanding the Martian carbon cycle, the abiotic organic evolution of the early Mars (and by inference the early Earth), the identification of potentially habitable environments in the Solar System, and the processes leading to the origins of life. A selected group of six Mars meteorites will be studied systematically with the objectives of determining: [1] the molecular composition and abundance of organic phases and, where applicable, the texture and morphology of any discrete organic assemblage; and, [2] the spatial distribution of organics in relation to the underlying mineralogy. The investigators have pioneered these procedures and techniques in the analysis of extraterrestrial samples, and bring their collective expertise to the study. The investigators will give at least two lessons annually though NASA JSC ARES' Classroom Connection Webinars, reaching 500 - 1700 students live, with the lectures archived as recordings. The investigators also interact with visiting educators through tours of the laboratory facilities.