Fresh hope in search for life on Mars after scientists detect methane ‘burp’ on the planet
Methane is a promising sign of life because of its links to biological activity on Earth
METHANE on Mars has been confirmed in a major scientific breakthrough for the planet.
Scientists think the presence of the gas adds new hope in the search for finding Martian life.
Methane is a promising sign of life because of its links to biological activity on Earth.
Nasa's Curiosity rover actually detected a tiny amount of methane on Mars in 2013 but where the gas was coming from was never explained and even the rover got blamed as scientists tried to work it out.
Now, Marco Giuranna and his colleagues at the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome have reanalysed 2013 data from the Mars Express orbiter to show that the spacecraft also detected a methane ‘burp’ just one day after Curiosity.
The scientists believe that this second detection is confirmation of the gas's presence on the planet.
Mars facts
Here's what you need to know about the red planet...
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun
- It is named after the Roman god of war
- The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth but due to the difference in gravity you could jump three times higher there than you can here
- Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest
- Mars is considered to be the second most habitable planet after Earth
- It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun
- So far, there has been 39 missions to Mars but only 16 of these have been successful
What produced the 'spike' in methane on this occasion has not been addressed by the study but the researchers think the gas could have burst out of ice cracks near the Gale Crater, which is thought to be an ancient lake.
The researchers said: "We do not address the ultimate origin of the detected Martian methane. Many abiotic (non-biological) and biotic (biological) processes can generate methane on Mars.
"However, the first step to understanding the origin of any Martian methane is to determine its release location."
Computer simulations have indicated that up to 4,000 tonnes of methane may have been released.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter will be the next spacecraft to further investigate the Mars methane and scientists will be investigating the strain of carbon in the gas to see if it actually is a sign of life.
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Do you think there's life on Mars? Let us know in the comments...
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