Abstract: Life is composed of organic compounds, and characterizing preserved compounds provides insights into the presence of specific types of life, including early life on Earth. With growing evidence for a wet early Mars, excitement over the potential of an early Martian biosphere strongly motivates Mars exploration. However, the preservation potential of organic compounds in rocks on either Earth or Mars depends critically on mineralogy. Results from elemental, mineralogical, and morphological characterization of sedimentary rocks by the Opportunity...
(read more)
Topics: 
Geochemistry
Astrobiology
Earth science