Curiosity’s Breakthrough: Largest Organic Molecules Found on Mars

NASA's Curiosity rover has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars, detecting the largest organic molecules ever found on the Red Planet. This episode delves into the implications of finding long-chain hydrocarbons in a 3.7 billion-year-old sample from Gale crater, and how this could impact future Mars exploration missions. Join us as we explore the potential for ancient life on Mars and the innovative techniques used to uncover these findings.



Sources:

https://www.cnrs.fr/en/press/organic-molecules-unprecedented-size-discovered-mars

https://aiaa.org/2025/03/25/curiosity-logs-4000th-day-on-mars/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250324152436.htm

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14808

https://www.sciencealert.com/largest-carbon-molecules-found-on-mars-build-the-case-for-ancient-life

https://www.iflscience.com/curiosity-finds-record-breaking-organic-molecules-on-mars-possibly-formed-from-fatty-acids-78539

https://www.science.org/content/article/curiosity-rover-detects-long-chain-carbon-molecules-mars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wektNJExGks

https://www.space.com/the-universe/mars/curiosity-mars-rover-discovers-largest-organic-molecules-ever-seen-on-red-planet

https://www.popsci.com/science/mars-largest-organic-molecules/