Scientists Have Discovered Fixed Nitrogen in a Martian Meteorite For The First Time

CARLY CASSELLA4 MAY 2020

A fresh new look at a 4 billion-year-old Martian meteorite has revealed organic compounds containing nitrogen - the first real evidence of fixed nitrogen molecules on the Red Planet.

Nitrogen is essential for all known forms of life, and while there's currently no evidence to suggest this discovery was created by some biological unit, it does leave open the possibility that once upon a time, Mars might have been a wet and organic-rich planet - a blue planet even - the perfect place for life to begin.

"Early in the Solar System's history, Mars was likely showered with significant amounts of organic matter, for example from carbon-rich meteorites, comets and dust particles," chemist Atsuko Kobayashi from the Tokyo Institute of Technology explains.

"Some of them may have dissolved in the brine and been trapped inside the carbonates."

It's hard to say how these nitrogen-bearing organics may have arisen, but regardless of the explanation, the results suggest Mars may have once been more Earth-like and hospitable to life than it is now - and could have once had its own nitrogen cycle.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/4-billion-year-old-martian-meteorite-found-with-organic-molecules-containing-nitrogen-for-the-first-time