Many organic compounds were found in the Tissint meteorite. article about it published at Science Advances.
Tissint fell in Morocco 11 years ago. Its fragments were found scattered across the desert about 50 kilometers from the city from which it was named. The Tissint formed on Mars hundreds of millions of years ago and was ejected from it by a great power event – a meteorite fall or a volcanic eruption.
Scientists from the Technical University of Munich investigated the composition of this meteorite and created the most complete catalog of organic compounds of all known Martian rocks. Organic molecules include carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and sometimes other elements. Organic compounds are often associated with life, but previous studies of Martian meteorites have shown that organics can also form as a result of abiotic processes. In particular, scientists learned about the interaction of the mantle and crust with the participation of water.
The abundance of organic magnesium compounds was of particular interest. They have never been seen on Mars before. They are thought to have formed from the high pressure and temperature deep within the planet, suggesting a link between the carbon cycle and mineral evolution.
Scientists hope that in the future samples brought from Mars by humans or robots will reveal more information about the planet.