More than 20 organic compounds found on Mars – many for the first time

An international team of researchers has identified more than 20 organic molecules in clay-bearing sandstones on Mars that are about 3.5 billion years old. The compounds discovered include benzothiophene – a known component of meteoritic macromolecular carbon that represents the largest confirmed underivatised aromatic molecule to be identified as indigenous to the Red Planet. The ester methyl benzoate was also detected, along with naphthalene, as well as single and dicyclic aromatic molecules. Finding these substances on ancient Mars, including several widely considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth, suggests that prebiotic chemistry could have existed there once.