Press release: Atmospheric formaldehyde production on early Mars leading to a potential formation of bio-important molecules

Figure . Conceptual diagram of the process by which formaldehyde (H2CO) is formed in the atmosphere on ancient, warm Mars and converted into the material molecules of life in the ocean (©Shungo Koyama).

A research group led by Shungo Koyama, a PhD student, and Prof. Naoki Terada in this laboratory, estimated the amount of formaldehyde produced in the ancient Martian atmosphere using a photochemical model of the atmosphere, and showed that formaldehyde was continuously produced in the warm period of ancient Mars. The results of this study suggest that sugar, a material molecule of life represented by ribose, one of the components of ribonucleic acid (RNA), may have been continuously produced during the prehistoric warm period on Mars. The research results were published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports on February 9, 2024.

For more information, please see the press release page of Tohoku University.

Title: Atmospheric formaldehyde production on early Mars leading to a potential formation of bio-important molecules
Authors: Shungo Koyama*, Arihiro Kamada, Yoshihiro Furukawa, Naoki Terada, Yuki Nakamura, Tatsuya Yoshida, Takeshi Kuroda, and Ann Carine Vandaele
Journal: Scientific Reports
DOI: 0.1038/s41598-024-52718-9
URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52718-9