Scientists from Tohoku University have investigated whether the early atmospheric conditions on Mars had the potential to foster the formation of biomolecules - organic compounds essential for biological processes. Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, offer intriguing insights into the plausibility of Mars harboring life in its distant past.
Today, Mars presents a harsh environment characterized by dryness and extreme cold, but geological evidence hints at a more hospitable past. About 3.8-3.6 billion years ago, the planet probably had a temperate climate, sustained by the warming properties of gases like hydrogen. In such an environment, Mars may have had liquid water, a key ingredient for life as we know it.
The researchers investigated whether formaldehyde could have formed in the early Martian environment. Formaldehyde is a simple organic compound that plays a crucial role as a precursor for the formation of vital biomolecules through purely chemical or physical processes. These biomolecules, like amino acids and sugars, serve as the fundamental building blocks for proteins and RNA, essential components of life.
Using an advanced computer model, the team simulated the potential atmospheric composition of early Mars to explore the potential for formaldehyde production. The model was built with the assumption that the atmosphere was rich in carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide. Their simulations suggest that the ancient Martian atmosphere could have provided a continuous supply of formaldehyde which would have potentially led to the creation of various organic compounds. This raises the intriguing possibility that the organic materials detected on the Martian surface could have originated from atmospheric sources, particularly during the planet's two earliest geological periods.
Diagram showing the formation of formaldehyde (H2CO) in the warm atmosphere of ancient Mars and its conversion into molecules vital for life in the ocean.©Shungo Koyama
"Our research provides crucial insights into the chemical processes that may have occurred on ancient Mars, offering valuable clues to the possibility of past life on the planet," says Shungo Koyama, lead author of the study. By revealing that there were conditions favorable for the formation of bio molecules, the research broadens our understanding of the planet's ancient capacity to sustain life.
Next, the team plans to analyze geological data gathered by NASA's Martian rovers, with the aim of increasing their understanding of organic materials present early in the planet's history. By comparing the expected carbon isotopes of ancient formaldehyde with data from Martian samples, they hope to get a better picture of the processes that shaped the planet's organic chemistry.
Publication Details:
Title: Atmospheric formaldehyde production on early Mars leading to a potential formation of bio‐important molecules
Authors: Shungo Koyama*, Arihiro Kamada, Yoshihiro Furukawa, Naoki Terada, Yuki Nakamura, Tatsuya Yoshida, Takeshi Kuroda, and Ann Carine Vandaele
Journal: Scientific Reports
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52718-9
Contact:
Shungo Koyama
Affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
Email: koyama.shungo.q5 * dc.tohoku.ac.jp(Replace * with @)
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]]>Now, a team of scientists have performed an intensive investigation of Ryugu samples, discovering evidence that points to cometary organic matter being transported from space to the near-Earth region.
The team included Megumi Matsumoto, an assistant professor from the Earth Science Department at Tohoku University Graduate School of Science. Details of their findings were published in the journal Science Advances on January 19, 2024.
Asteroid Ryugu has no protective atmospheres, and its surface layer is directly exposed to space. Small interplanetary dust in space can hit the asteroid surface, causing changes to the composition of the asteroid surface materials.
Matsumoto and her colleagues revealed that the sample surfaces contain small 'melt splashes,' ranging in size from 5 to 20 micrometers. These melt splashes were created when micrometeoroids of cometary dust bombarded Ryugu.
"Our 3D CT imaging and chemical analyses showed that the melt splashes consist mainly of silicate glasses with voids and small inclusions of spherical iron sulfides," says Matsumoto. "The chemical compositions of the melt splashes suggest that Ryugu's hydrous silicates mixed with cometary dust."
The mixing and melting of Ryugu's surface materials and cometary dust during impact induced heating and rapid cooling formed the melt splashes. The voids correspond to the water vapor released from the Ryugu's hydrous silicates and subsequently captured in the melt splashes.
Analysis also revealed small carbonaceous materials with abundant nano-pores and iron sulfide inclusions in the melt splashes. The carbonaceous materials are texturally similar to primitive organic matter in cometary dust, though they lack nitrogen and oxygen, making them chemically different from organic matter.
"We propose that the carbonaceous materials formed from cometary organic matter via the evaporation of volatiles, such as nitrogen and oxygen, during the impact-induced heating. This suggests that cometary matter was transported to the near-Earth region from the outer solar system," adds Matsumoto. "This organic matter might be the small seeds of life once delivered from space to Earth."
Looking ahead, the team hopes to examine Ryugu samples to find more melt splashes that will provide further insights into the influx of primitive space materials into Earth.
Caption: (Left) A melt splash discovered on a Ryugu sample surface. The melt splash shows a round shape. (Right) CT slice image of the melt splash exhibiting abundant voids inside. © Megumi Matsumoto et al.
Caption: Carbonaceous material found in the melt splash. The carbonaceous material shows spongy texture and contains small iron sulfide inclusions. This is similar to the primitive organic matters found in cometary dust. © Megumi Matsumoto et al.
Publication Details:
Title: Microstructural and chemical features of impact melts on Ryugu particle surfaces: Records of interplanetary dust hit on asteroid Ryugu.
Authors: Megumi Matsumoto, Junya Matsuno, Akira Tsuchiyama, Tomoki Nakamura, Yuma Enokido, Mizuha Kikuiri, Aiko Nakato, Masahiro Yasutake, Kentaro Uesugi, Akihisa Takeuchi, Satomi Enju, Shota Okumura, Itaru Mitsukawa, Mingqi Sun, Akira Miyake, Mitsutaka Haruta, Yohei Igami, Hisayoshi Yurimoto, Takaaki Noguchi, Ryuji Okazaki, Hikaru Yabuta, Hiroshi Naraoka, Kanako Sakamoto, Shogo Tachibana, Michael Zolensky, Toru Yada, Masahiro Nishimura, Akiko Miyazaki, Kasumi Yogata, Masanao Abe, Tatsuaki Okada, Tomohiro Usui, Makoto Yoshikawa, Takanao Saiki, Satoshi Tanaka, Fuyuto Terui, Satoru Nakazawa, Sei-ichiro Watanabe, and Yuichi Tsuda.
Journal: Science Advances
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi7203
Contact:
Megumi Matsumoto
Email: m_matsumoto * tohoku.ac.jp(Replace * with @)
Website: https://www.esse.epms.es.tohoku.ac.jp/project-en.html
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, in which Prof. Kenji Toma from Tohoku University's Frontier Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences participates, has released new images of M87*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87, using data from observations taken in April 2018. With the participation of the newly commissioned Greenland Telescope and a dramatically improved recording rate across the array, the 2018 observations give us a view of the source independent from the first observations in 2017. A recent paper published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics presents new images from the 2018 data that reveal a familiar ring the same size as the one observed in 2017. This bright ring surrounds a deep central depression, "the shadow of the black hole," as predicted by general relativity. Excitingly, the brightness peak of the ring has shifted by about 30º compared to the images from 2017, which is consistent with our theoretical understanding of variability from turbulent material around black holes.
The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration has released new images of M87* from observations taken in April 2018, one year after the first observations in April 2017. The new observations in 2018, which feature the first participation of the Greenland Telescope, reveal a familiar, bright ring of emission of the same size as we found in 2017. This bright ring surrounds a dark central shadow, and the brightest part of the ring in 2018 has shifted by about 30º relative from 2017 to now lie in the 5 o'clock position.Credit: EHT Collaboration
Please see the press release from EHT-Japan for details.
Publication Details
Title: The persistent shadow of the supermassive black hole of M87. I. Observations, calibration, imaging, and analysis
Authors: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration et al.
Journal: Astronomy and Astrophysics
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202347932
URL: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347932
Press Release:
EHT
https://eventhorizontelescope.org/M87-one-year-later-proof-of-a-persistent-black-hole-shadow
EHT-Japan
https://www.miz.nao.ac.jp/eht-j/c/pr/pr20240118/en.html
Contact:
Kenji Toma
Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University
Astronomical Institute, Tohoku University
Email:toma * fris.tohoku.ac.jp
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