Within a decade the world will never see days even in the cleanest of places on days in the fall when greenhouse gases are at their lowest when the carbon measurement falls below 400 ppm, said James Butler, director of global monitoring at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth Science Research Lab in Boulder, Colo.

NPR: Experts: CO2 Record Illustrates 'Scary' Trend

If there aren't any organics, that may suggest there's something on the planet destroying these molecules, says James Wray, assistant professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology and collaborator on the Curiosity science team.

CNN: Rover Curiosity near Mars landing

Dr Victoria Coker will use her For Women In Science Fellowship to support her research at the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester.

UNESCO: 2011 UK and Ireland Winners