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ISLAMABAD: NASA announced on Tuesday that its Curiosity Rover has discovered the most diverse set of organic molecules ever identified on Mars. The discovery included seven carbon-containing molecules never seen there before.&nbsp; The announcement came in a release from NASA&rsquo;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, based on a paper published the same day in Nature Communications. In simple terms, organic molecules are chemical compounds built around carbon. They matter because they are part of the chemistry linked to life, though their presence does not, by itself, prove that life existed.&nbsp; NASA stressed that scientists still do not know whether these molecules were formed by living things long ago or by non-living geological processes. The molecules were found in a rock sample drilled by Curiosity in 2020. The sample came from a spot nicknamed Mary Anning 3 on Mount Sharp. NASA said this area was once covered by lakes and streams billions of years ago. Over time, the region became rich in clay minerals. That is important because clay can preserve ancient chemicals for very long periods. This is why the finding matters so much. Even after billions of years of radiation and harsh Martian conditions, these compounds survived in the rock.&nbsp; NASA said the result adds to evidence that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to potentially support life. One of the most significant discoveries was a nitrogen heterocycle, a ring-shaped molecule containing nitrogen.&nbsp; NASA said this kind of structure is considered a chemical precursor to more complex compounds connected to RNA and DNA, which carry genetic information in life on Earth. Another important molecule found was benzothiophene. NASA said it contains carbon and sulfur.&nbsp; The agency added that it has also been seen in meteorites and is useful for studying the kinds of chemistry that may have helped set the stage for life in the early solar system. The testing was done using Curiosity&rsquo;s onboard mini-laboratory, Sample Analysis at Mars, or SAM. NASA said the Mary Anning 3 sample was the first Martian sample treated with a powerful chemical solution called TMAH, which helps break larger compounds into smaller pieces that are easier to detect. NASA said the work could also help future space missions. Parts of SAM are already being adapted for the European Space Agency&rsquo;s Rosalind Franklin rover and for NASA&rsquo;s Dragonfly mission to Saturn&rsquo;s moon Titan.

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The space agency says the result adds to evidence that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to potentially support life.

NASA Rover detects rare organic molecules on Mars

BERLIN: NASA has confirmed that it will contribute to Europe&#39;s Martian rover Rosalind Franklin, which is scheduled to launch in 2028 after repeated delays, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday.&nbsp;The rover aims to be the first on the red planet capable of drilling up to two metres (6.5 feet) below the surface to search for extraterrestrial life.&nbsp;However, the mission relies on several elements from NASA, which US President Donald Trump has targeted with steep budget cuts since returning to the White House in January.&nbsp;ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said he had received &quot;a letter from the NASA administration to confirm the contributions&quot; of the US space agency to the mission.&nbsp;&quot;That is good news,&quot; Aschbacher said on the sidelines of the ESA&#39;s ministerial council meeting being held this week in the German city of Bremen.&nbsp;The mission was originally intended to launch in 2020, but suffered several setbacks.&nbsp;In 2022, it was suspended after the ESA ended cooperation with Russia -- the agency&#39;s main partner for the mission -- following Moscow&#39;s invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;The ESA then turned to the United States for help.&nbsp;Aschbacher said NASA was contributing to three of the mission&#39;s elements: the launcher, radioisotope heater unit and braking engine.&nbsp;The braking engine had been confirmed some time ago, but the other two elements will be a relief for the ESA.&nbsp;NASA is also providing &quot;one instrument to analyse traces of possible life on Mars,&quot; Aschbacher added.&nbsp;The rover, which is named after British scientist Rosalind Franklin, is planned to touch down on the Martian surface in 2030.

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NASA will contribute key elements to Europe's Martian rover, Rosalind Franklin, launching in 2028. The rover aims to search for life by drilling 2 meters below Mars' surface. It suffered delays, including suspension in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine.

NASA confirms support for delayed European Mars rover: ESA

CAPE CANAVERAL: New Glenn, the towering rocket built by Jeff Bezos&#39;s space company Blue Origin, is set to take off on its second mission Sunday as competition intensifies with Elon Musk&#39;s SpaceX. The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket has the task of sending NASA&#39;s ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to Mars, a bid to study the Red Planet&#39;s climate history and pave the way for eventual human exploration. Blue Origin&#39;s launch will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery -- what would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful. The rocket is set to blast off Sunday during an 88-minute launch window that will begin at 2:45pm (1945 GMT). If delayed by weather or a technical glitch, rescheduling could prove challenging given the US government shutdown. To relieve airspace congestion, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket lift-offs starting Monday. New Glenn&#39;s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests. But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent. This time it will try once more to recover the booster stage. Thus far, only Musk&#39;s company SpaceX has managed to do that.<h2> </h2><h2>&#39;Indicator&#39; of progress</h2>The competing space companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the US federal space agency opened up bids for its planned Moon mission as complaints emerged that SpaceX was &quot;behind.&quot; George Nield -- a senior aerospace executive whose work promotes the commercial space industry, and who has flown with Blue Origin in the past -- told AFP the stakes of Sunday&#39;s launch are high. How the launch plays out will be an indicator of &quot;how well they&#39;re doing and how much progress they&#39;ve made,&quot; he said. If all goes to plan, the twin satellites aboard New Glenn are slated to reach Martian orbit in 2027. US President Donald Trump&#39;s second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the moon amid a race with China. Mason Peck, an aeronautics professor at Cornell University and former NASA chief technologist, said increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could &quot;expand our options with regard to launch.&quot; &quot;More launches means more ideas in space,&quot; Peck said. &quot;It can&#39;t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin even trailing behind.&quot;

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin will launch its New Glenn rocket on a second mission to send NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars, aiming to achieve booster recovery and challenge SpaceX amid intensifying commercial space race competition.

Articles tagged with "Mars"

NASA Rover detects rare organic molecules on Mars

NASA confirms support for delayed European Mars rover: ESA

Bezos's Blue Origin set to launch NASA mission to Mars