This is just the sort of sediment we were seeing in New Zealand in the power station - just the sort of stuff I ve been looking for. Once we ve figured out how the stuff in New Zealand forms we ll understand how this forms. And from here to Mars. But they re few and far between because ancient bacteria and archaea don t preserve well. But in the organic geochemistry lab there are other ways of sniffing out life.
Hydrocarbons are signatures of life.
The result is a crystal clear picture of the rock s history, including it s age, and the temperature of it s original environment. But the information is so specific, it can pinpoint the presence of particular organisms - even when they ve been dead for billions of years. I ve just finished analysing the latest set and they look really interesting. But you can imagine it ll be hard to do the same sorts of things on Mars so we have to get it all right before we go. And that s what we re trying to do now.