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Fixed nitrogen found inside Martian meteorite


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A purely chemical process is mentioned in the article, by which nitrogen could have become 'fixed'. I would note, too, though, that there are such things, on Earth at least, as nitrogen fixing bacteria. This nitrogen was found in the same Martian meteorite which was supposed to contain traces of micro-organisms from that planet. Quite a coincidence. . .

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How do we know it came from Mars, given we have only started surveying the planet in the last few years?

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3 minutes ago, Torviking said:

How do we know it came from Mars, given we have only started surveying the planet in the last few years?

Actually we have been landing spacecraft on Mars for more than 40 years.

Vikings 1 and 2 made successful landings in 1976.

We know it came from Mars because of the similarity in chemical make up between the meteorites and rocks analysed on Mars.

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These meteorites have isotope ratios typical of Martian rocks and gases, which we know from the spacecraft we've sent there. 

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The question of fossilized remnants of life in the famed Allan Hills 84001 meteorite has not been truly settled. The majority of scientific opinion tends to minimize this possibility, though.

They observe, quite correctly, that the shape of the supposed fossils, by itself, is not reliable evidence of past life. Still, there are some interesting arguments to made on the other side, including the fact that these seeming fossils, together with their mineral context would be taken as strong signs of life, if they had originated on Earth. 

More interesting information on this can be found in the article, linked below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Hills_84001 

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