Researchers of the Scientific Institute Carnegie disclosed the origin of organic molecules in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills, which was discovered in Antarctica in 1984. According to the conclusions, published in the journal Science, they were synthesized with the interaction between rocks and water about four billion years ago.
Scientists analyzed samples from Mars using various methods, including nanoscale visualization, isotopic analysis and spectroscopy. It turned out that two important geochemical processes occurred in Martian rocks: serpentine and carbonization.
In the first case, magmatic rocks rich in iron and magnesium were interacted with water, as a result of which they metamorphised with the release of hydrogen. In the second case, rock rocks react with weakly acidic water containing dissolved carbon dioxide, which is associated with the formation of carbonate minerals.
Data indicate that the interactions between water and rocks did not occur over a long period of time. However, it is obvious that as a result of the reaction of the recovery of carbon dioxide, organic material was formed. Thus, nebiological geological reactions are responsible for the pool of organic carbon compounds, of which life could continue to develop.