Tsuchiyama A
Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Japan.
Biol Sci Space. 1996 Dec;10(4):262-70. doi: 10.2187/bss.10.262.
Possible relic biogenic activity in martian meteorite ALH84001 was proposed by McKay et al. (Science, 273, 924-930, 1996). This ancient meteorite of 4.5 billion years old contains abundant carbonates as secondary minerals precipitated from a fluid on the martian surface. They showed the following lines of evidence for the ancient life; (1) unique mineral compositions and biominerals, (2) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in association with the carbonates, and (3) unique structures and morphologies typical of nanobacteria or microfossils. This review is divided into two parts; one is on the martian meteorites in general and ALH84001, which has many features unlike other martian meteorites, and the other is on mineralogical (biomineralogical) and geochemical features of the carbonates and microfossil-like structures. There is little doubt that ALH84001 is from Mars as well as eleven other SNC meteorites. However, the mineralogical and biomineralogical evidence for martian bacteria given by McKay et al. (1996) is controversial, and could be formed by non-biogenic processes. Thus, further study of ALH84001 and other martian meteorites is required. We also need to consider the future Mars mission especially sample return mission.
麦凯等人（《科学》，第273卷，第924 - 930页，1996年）提出火星陨石ALH84001中可能存在遗留的生物活性。这块有45亿年历史的古老陨石含有丰富的碳酸盐，它们是火星表面流体中沉淀出的次生矿物。他们展示了以下支持古代生命存在的证据：（1）独特的矿物成分和生物矿物；（2）与碳酸盐相关的多环芳烃（PAHs）；（3）纳米细菌或微化石特有的独特结构和形态。这篇综述分为两部分；一部分是关于一般的火星陨石以及具有许多与其他火星陨石不同特征的ALH84001，另一部分是关于碳酸盐和类微化石结构的矿物学（生物矿物学）和地球化学特征。毫无疑问，ALH84001与其他十一颗SNC陨石一样来自火星。然而，麦凯等人（1996年）给出的火星细菌的矿物学和生物矿物学证据存在争议，可能是由非生物过程形成的。因此，需要对ALH84001和其他火星陨石进行进一步研究。我们还需要考虑未来的火星任务，特别是样本返回任务。
