Mars: new evidence of an environment conducive to the emergence of life

A hexagonal fossil pattern in sedimentary rocks analysed by Curiosity on the 3154th day of its journey through the Gale Crater on Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/IRAP/Rapin et al./Nature Scientists have discovered fossil evidence of a cyclical climate on Mars, with wet and dry seasons like those on Earth. This environment, in which simple organic molecules have already been discovered, may have provided ideal conditions for the formation of complex organic compounds. This work opens up new prospects for research into the processes underlying the origin of life, of which no vestiges remain on Earth. Using data from NASA's Curiosity rover, scientists at the CNRS, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, with the participation of CNES, have discovered patterns on Mars that provide evidence of a cyclical climate similar to that of Earth's. This major discovery opens up new prospects for research into the origin of life. The results of the study are published on 9 August 2023 in the journal Nature .