You are currently viewing the summary.
View Full TextLog in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
More options
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
Summary
The simple organic compounds discovered by the Curiosity Mars rover either came with the tons of never-alive cosmic debris that sifts onto every planetary body or are something far more exciting: remains of martian life from eons ago, when a habitable lake graced the rover's landing site. Researchers could learn more about the complex organic molecules that yielded these first finds if Curiosity's drilling strikes a richer vein of organics in the coming months or if a more sophisticated analytical technique is employed.
↵* With additional reporting by Emily Lakdawalla, a freelance journalist in Los Angeles, California.