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This Mars rover could finally reveal whether life ever existed on Mars

The hunt for ancient life on Mars just got an important test run. Scientists confirmed that the Rosalind Franklin rover's sophisticated instrument can detect subtle differences in two stable molecules that could preserve evidence of past life for billions of years. But the team also uncovered a surprise: organic molecules in the Murchison meteorite appear to have been contaminated by fossil fuel pollution during their journey through Earth's atmosphere.

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