Curosity Day 1268

[BMAONE23]

This image, courtesy of the MAHLI Camera on Curiosity has captured an interesting image of what appear to be circular features. While they could be artifacts from Brushing the surface, they appear to be ingrained in the rock. There are several Arc features in this rock. Though being at the center of the Brushed Area, they are likely from the brushing itself

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Larger area for context

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[neufer]

Earth Life Likely Came from Mars, Study Suggests
By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | August 28, 2013

<<Evidence is building that Earth life originated on Mars and was brought to this planet aboard a meteorite, said biochemist Steven Benner of The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Florida.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

An oxidized form of the element molybdenum, which may have been crucial to the origin of life, was likely available on the Red Planet's surface long ago, but unavailable on Earth, said Benner, who presented his findings today at the annual Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Florence, Italy.

"It’s only when molybdenum becomes highly oxidized that it is able to influence how early life formed," Benner said in a statement. "This form of molybdenum couldn’t have been available on Earth at the time life first began, because 3 billion years ago, the surface of the Earth had very little oxygen, but Mars did. It’s yet another piece of evidence which makes it more likely life came to Earth on a Martian meteorite, rather than starting on this planet."

[img3=""Some microbes are incredibly hardy, after all, and
may be able to survive an interplanetary journey after
being blasted off their home world by an asteroid.""]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5 ... 3,200_.jpg[/img3]

Organic compounds are the building blocks of life, but they need a little help to make things happen. Simply adding energy such as heat or light turns a soup of organic molecules into a tarlike substance, Benner said.

That's where oxidized molybdenum comes in. Inserting it or boron, another element, into the mix would help organics make the leap to life, Benner added. "Analysis of a Martian meteorite recently showed that there was boron on Mars; we now believe that the oxidized form of molybdenum was there, too," he said.

Another point in Mars' favor is the likelihood that the early Earth was completely covered by water while the ancient Red Planet had substantial dry areas, Benner said. All of this liquid would have made it difficult for boron, which is currently found only in extremely dry places, to form in high enough concentrations on Earth when life was first evolving.

Further, Benner added, water is corrosive to RNA, which most researchers think was the first genetic molecule (rather than DNA, which came later).

Some microbes are incredibly hardy, after all, and may be able to survive an interplanetary journey after being blasted off their home world by an asteroid impact. And orbital dynamics show that it's much easier for rocks to travel from Mars to Earth than the other way around.>>

[geckzilla]

Uh, yeah, I don't think there is anything beyond the brush, here; or, at least, nothing interesting to anyone who isn't a geologist.

[neufer]

Uh, yeah, I don't think there is anything beyond the brush, here;
or, at least, nothing interesting to anyone who isn't a geologist.

Feel your Martian Molybdenum and embrace your inner Spongebob.