A SEARCH FOR ENDOGENOUS AMINO-ACIDS IN MARTIAN METEORITE ALH84001

Trace amounts of glycine, serine, and alanine were detected in the car bonate component of the martian meteorite ALH84001 by high-performance liquid chromatography. The detected amino acids were not uniformly di stributed in the carbonate component and ranged in concentration from 0.1 to 7 parts per million. Although the detected alanine consists pri marily of the L enantiomer, low concentrations (<0.1 parts per million ) of endogenous D-alanine may be present in the ALH84001 carbonates. T he amino acids present in this sample of ALH84001 appear to be terrest rial in origin and similar to those in Allan Hills ice, although the p ossibility cannot be ruled out that minute amounts of some amino acids such as D-alanine are preserved in the meteorite.