Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30402538.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aat5118 and PMC identifier 6209388.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
The sources and nature of organic carbon on Mars have been a subject of intense research. Steele <i>et al.</i> (2012) showed that 10 martian meteorites contain macromolecular carbon phases contained within pyroxene- and olivine-hosted melt inclusions. Here, we show that martian meteorites Tissint, Nakhla, and NWA 1950 have an inventory of organic carbon species associated with fluid-mineral reactions that are remarkably consistent with those detected by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. We advance the hypothesis that interactions among spinel-group minerals, sulfides, and a brine enable the electrochemical reduction of aqueous CO<sub>2</sub> to organic molecules. Although documented here in martian samples, a similar process likely occurs wherever igneous rocks containing spinel-group minerals and/or sulfides encounter brines.