Atomic force microscopy imaging of fragments from the Martian meteorite ALH84001

A combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) techniques, as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods has been used to study fragments of the Martian meteorite ALH84001. Images of the same areas on the meteorite were obtained prior to and following gold/palladium coating by mapping the surface of the fragment using ESEM coupled with energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis. Viewing of the fragments demonstrated the presence of structures, previously described as nanofossils by McKay et al. (Search for past life on Mars — possible relic biogenic activity in martian meteorite ALH84001. Science, 1996, pp. 924–930) of NASA who used SEM imaging of gold‐coated meteorite samples. Careful imaging of the fragments revealed that the observed structures were not an artefact introduced by the coating procedure.

[1]  A. Steele,et al.  An atomic force microscopy study of the biodeterioration of stainless steel in the presence of bacterial biofilms , 1994 .

[2]  E. Bamberg,et al.  Scan speed limit in atomic force microscopy , 1993 .

[3]  Gerber,et al.  Atomic Force Microscope , 2020, Definitions.

[4]  Harry Y. McSween,et al.  A possible high-temperature origin for the carbonates in the martian meteorite ALH84001 , 1996, Nature.

[5]  H. Hansma,et al.  Biomolecular imaging with the atomic force microscope. , 1994, Annual review of biophysics and biomolecular structure.

[6]  D. Ming,et al.  Size distribution of magnetite in carbonate globules of ALH84001 Martian meteorite , 1997 .

[7]  R. Zare,et al.  Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001 , 1996, Science.

[8]  H. McSween,et al.  Magnetite whiskers and platelets in the ALH84001 Martian meteorite: evidence of vapor phase growth. , 1996, Geochimica et cosmochimica acta.

[9]  M. Farina,et al.  The observation of large magnetite (Fe3O4) crystals from magnetotactic bacteria by electron and atomic force microscopy , 1994 .

[10]  Edward F. DeLong,et al.  Multiple Evolutionary Origins of Magnetotaxis in Bacteria , 1993, Science.

[11]  W. Reeves.  Royal Microscopical Society , 1873, Nature.

[12]  Atomic force microscopy of a hydrated bacterial surface protein , 1991, Journal of microscopy.

[13]  W Baumeister,et al.  Conformational change of the hexagonally packed intermediate layer of Deinococcus radiodurans monitored by atomic force microscopy , 1996, Journal of bacteriology.

[14]  Evidence for ancient life in a martian meteorite (! or ?) , 1996 .

[15]  Transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and atomic force microscopy of the cell envelope layers of the archaeobacterium Methanospirillum hungatei GP1 , 1993, Journal of bacteriology.

[16]  A. Lenhoff,et al.  STM and AFM in Biotechnology , 1993, Biotechnology progress.

[17]  David Keller,et al.  Biochemical and structural applications of scanning force microscopy , 1994 .