Consortium Study of Organic Matter in Mars Meteorites

许多航天器已经去过火星；还没有一艘把样品送回地球。我们在地球上可以研究的唯一火星物质样本是火星陨石。在一些火星陨石中发现了有机物质，但科学家们无法就有机物质在何时、何地和如何形成达成一致。研究人员将研究六块火星陨石的样本，以了解这些有机物的组成和结构。这项研究将提供关于年轻火星中碳是如何形成和随时间变化的答案。然后，这些答案可以用来解决以下问题：有机物质是如何在年轻的地球上形成的，太阳系中哪些地方可以容纳生命，以及什么过程导致了生命的形成。这项研究通过促进我们对太阳系内外创造生命的过程的理解，服务于国家利益。研究人员将通过NASA约翰逊航天中心的课堂连接网络研讨会，每年至少给这项研究上两节课，每节课接触到500-1700名学生。这些课程也被记录下来。研究人员还通过参观实验室设施与来访的教育工作者互动。火星陨石是目前唯一可用于实验室分析的火星地壳样本。这项研究将调查火星陨石中有机物质的性质和来源。尽管在一些火星陨石中已经确定了可能存在的本土有机物质，但科学家们对这种物质是在何时、何地或如何形成的还没有达成一致。这些问题的答案对于理解火星的碳循环、早期火星(由此推断出早期地球)的非生物有机进化、识别太阳系中潜在的宜居环境以及生命起源的过程至关重要。将对选定的六块火星陨石进行系统研究，目的是确定：[1]有机相的分子组成和丰度，以及在适当情况下，任何离散有机组合的结构和形态；以及，[2]有机物质与底层矿物学相关的空间分布。研究人员在分析外星样本方面开创了这些程序和技术，并将他们的集体专业知识带到了研究中。调查人员每年将通过NASA JSC ARES的课堂连接网络研讨会至少上两堂课，现场接触到500-1700名学生，并将讲座存档为录音。调查人员还通过参观实验室设施与来访的教育工作者进行互动。

Many spacecraft have gone to Mars; none has returned samples to the Earth. The only samples of material from Mars that we can study here on Earth are the Mars meteorites. Organic matter has been found in some of the Mars meteorites, but scientists cannot agree on when, where, and how the organic matter formed. The investigators will study a sample of six Mars meteorites to learn about the composition and structure of the organics. This research will provide answers on how carbon in the young Mars formed and changed with time. These answers can then be used to address questions about how organic material formed on the young Earth, which places in the Solar System can host life, and what processes lead to the formation of life. This research serves the national interest by advancing our understanding of the processes that create life in and beyond the Solar System. The investigators will give at least two lessons on this study every year though NASA's Johnson Space Center's Classroom Connection Webinars, reaching 500 - 1700 students for each lesson. These lessons are also recorded. The investigators also interact with visiting educators through tours of the laboratory facilities.Mars meteorites are the only samples of the Martian crust currently available for laboratory analysis. This study will investigate the nature and origin of organic matter present within a suite of Mars meteorites. Although the presence of likely indigenous organic matter has been established in some Mars meteorites, scientists do not agree on when, where or how such matter formed. The answers to these questions are critical to understanding the Martian carbon cycle, the abiotic organic evolution of the early Mars (and by inference the early Earth), the identification of potentially habitable environments in the Solar System, and the processes leading to the origins of life. A selected group of six Mars meteorites will be studied systematically with the objectives of determining: [1] the molecular composition and abundance of organic phases and, where applicable, the texture and morphology of any discrete organic assemblage; and, [2] the spatial distribution of organics in relation to the underlying mineralogy. The investigators have pioneered these procedures and techniques in the analysis of extraterrestrial samples, and bring their collective expertise to the study. The investigators will give at least two lessons annually though NASA JSC ARES' Classroom Connection Webinars, reaching 500 - 1700 students live, with the lectures archived as recordings. The investigators also interact with visiting educators through tours of the laboratory facilities.