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We all make mistakes unintentionally, but it can hardly be as frustrating as destroying the possible evidence of life on Mars. According to a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets cited by the scientific journal N + 1, which adds science, the National Aeronautics Administration and from space (NASA reportedly accidentally burned samples taken from a probe sent 40 years ago.
In 1976, the US Space Agency sent two twin probes to Mars, Viking, who led the first experiences of organic matter search on the red planet.
Viking Lander probe represented in a simulation lab Mars / AP Although it was expected to find organic molecules because of the constant rain of micrometeorites, the two probes found nothing, surprising to the researchers who were behind the machines, those who could not explain the situation.
Error in the open air [ 1 9659007] Years gone by, and it was only in 2008 that NASA's Phoenix lander found a strange salt near the North Pole of Mars, known as perchlorate, a compound used for rocket fuel and fireworks because it becomes explosive at high temperatures. 1.
In the soil of the red planet, temperatures make impossible the explosion of perchlorate. However, by coming in contact with the Viking landers, any evidence confirming or denying the existence of life would have been literally burned by the compound's explosion.
To test this hypothesis, Melissa Guzman at the LATMOS research center in France, McKay and his colleagues explored the Viking data only to discover that they had also detected chlorobenzene, probably from the burning of organic matter says the media.
Despite this, Guzmán remains cautious, saying that he is not 100% convinced that chlorobenzene is formed as a result of the burning of Martian organic substances.
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