Organic matter found on Mars
Nasa researchers remain unsure of the source of the material

Nasa’s Curiosity rover has discovered complex organic matter in a dried-up lakebed on Mars.
The material was found after the rover drilled into the surface of a 3.5 billion-year-old mudstone at the bottom of the Gale crater.
Researchers have been quick to point out that the discovery does not necessarily mean that there is, or has been, life on the red planet.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, CNN says the organic matter “can be one of several things: a record detailing ancient life, a food source for life or something that exists in the place of life”.
“While we don’t know the source of the material, the amazing consistency of the results makes me think we have a slam-dunk signal for organics on Mars,” said Jennifer Eigenbrode, a biogeochemist at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre.
Researchers say they will require further samples that have not been irradiated in order to get a clearer picture of the origin of the organic matter.
In its search for the compounds, the Curiosity rover “only scrapes off the top five centimetres” of stone, however ExoMars's Moma lab which is planned to be launched in 2020 will go down two metres”, the ABC reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
The moon is rusting
Under the radar The Earth is likely to blame
-
Panspermia: the theory that life was sent to Earth by aliens
Under The Radar New findings have resurfaced an old, controversial idea
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programs
The Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.
Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
-
Answers to how life on Earth began could be stuck on Mars
Under the Radar Donald Trump plans to scrap Nasa's Mars Sample Return mission – stranding test tubes on the Red Planet and ceding potentially valuable information to China
-
The treasure trove of platinum on the moon
Under the radar This kind of bounty could lead to commercial exploitation
-
Why Elon Musk's satellites are 'dropping like flies'
Under The Radar Fierce solar activity destroying Starlink satellites
-
Why is Nasa facing a crisis?
Today's Big Question Trump administration proposes 25% cut to national space agency's budget in 'extinction-level event'