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Posted by: ljk4-1 Feb 8 2006, 02:22 PM

A carbon-rich substance found filling tiny cracks within a Martian meteorite could boost the idea that life once existed on the Red Planet.

The material resembles that found in fractures, or "veins", apparently etched by microbes in volcanic glass from the Earth's ocean floor.

The evidence comes from a meteorite held in London's Natural History Museum that was cracked open by curators.

...

Details will be presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, next month. The research team includes scientists who brought evidence for microbial life in another Martian meteorite, ALH84001, to the world's attention in 1998 [1996, actually].

...

Fresh samples

The latest data comes from examination of a piece of the famous Nakhla meteorite which came down in Egypt, in 1911, breaking up into many fragments.
[It also hit and killed a dog, supposedly: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/nakhla.html]

The full article is here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4688938.stm

Includes links to the papers.

Posted by: AndyG Feb 8 2006, 02:35 PM

So it could contain cur-bone, then?

Andy G

Posted by: RNeuhaus Feb 8 2006, 03:57 PM

How can the scientists identify the origin of meteorites? That puzzles me! It is funny that in Earth we can find Martian meteorites with carbonaceus and any rovers there are not still able to find any life traces.

From the BBC news, the microbes existed before of big impacts. The biggest impacts in Mars would be ones of Hella Plantia, Argyre Planitia, Syrtis and much more and perhaps Gusev according to the size of craters. So the next rovers must visit around big craters which are the most probably that had thrown stones and rocks farther for the hunt of life signs.

Rodolfo

Posted by: JRehling Feb 8 2006, 06:43 PM

There are a number of pieces of evidence that can constrain the nature of the host body. For example, volcanic activity would not have taken place on very small bodies. The process of elimination can narrow it further down.

In the case of Mars, the surest evidence comes from matching isotope ratios between those measured by Viking and those detected in the meteorites. The particular clincher in this case is that gas bubbles in the rocks match the martian atmosphere in isotope ratios.

Posted by: Bob Shaw Feb 8 2006, 07:37 PM

Andy:

Be Sirius!

Bob Shaw

Posted by: BruceMoomaw Feb 8 2006, 11:22 PM

Well, what do you think? Should we throw him out of the group or not?

Posted by: dvandorn Feb 8 2006, 11:39 PM

Naw -- it's not like he's going to Pluto. He's just getting a little Goofy, is all...

-the other Doug

Posted by: AlexBlackwell Feb 9 2006, 01:33 AM

I read the two LPSC abstracts [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2006/pdf/2251.pdf & http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2006/pdf/2039.pdf].

I guess with the pummelling that McKay et al. have taken on ALH84001, it's time for a new "martian meteorite that shows signs of ancient life."

Who knows, maybe this latest claim will shake loose some Mars exploration funding the way that ALH84001 did back in 1996.

Posted by: nprev Feb 9 2006, 01:58 AM

FLEAS stop it!!!

Posted by: paulanderson Feb 13 2006, 11:01 PM

Couple more articles, from NewScientistSpace and the Natural History Museum:

Martian Meteorite May Have Held Life
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn8709-martian-meteorite-may-have-held-life.html

Martian Meteorite Reveals Stuff of Life
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/feb/news_7730.html

Posted by: AlexBlackwell Mar 22 2006, 07:01 PM

The ALH84001 debate continues: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/ci-rol032206.php.