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Mars Express Confirms Methane in the Martian Atmosphere
European Space Agency via NASA Watch ^
| Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Posted on 03/30/2004 12:25:47 PM PST by Frank_Discussion
Mars Express Confirms Methane in the Martian Atmosphere
During recent observations from the ESA Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars, methane was detected in its atmosphere.
Whilst it is too early to draw any conclusions on its origin, exciting as they may be, scientists are thinking about the next steps to take in order to understand more.
From the time of its arrival at Mars, the Mars Express spacecraft started producing stunning results. One of the aims of the mission is analysing in detail the chemical composition of the Martian atmosphere, known to consist of 95% percent carbon dioxide plus 5% of minor constituents. It is also from these minor constituents, which scientists expect to be oxygen, water, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and methane, that we may get important information on the evolution of the planet and possible implications for the presence of past or present life.
The presence of methane has been confirmed thanks to the observations of the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) on board Mars Express during the past few weeks. This instrument is able to detect the presence of particular molecules by analysing their "spectral fingerprints" - the specific way each molecule absorbs the sunlight it receives.
The measurements confirm so far that the amount of methane is very small - about 10 parts in a thousand million, so its production process is probably small. However, the exciting question "where does this methane come from?" remains.
Methane, unless it is continuously produced by a source, only survives in the Martian atmosphere for a few hundreds of years because it quickly oxidises to form water and carbon dioxide, both present in the Martian atmosphere. So, there must be a mechanism that refills the atmosphere with methane.
"The first thing to understand is how exactly the methane is distributed in the Martian atmosphere," says Vittorio Formisano, Principal Investigator for the PFS instrument. "Since the methane presence is so small, we need to take more measurements. Only then we will have enough data to make a statistical analysis and understand whether there are regions of the atmosphere where methane is more concentrated".
Once this is done, scientists will try to establish a link between the planet-wide distribution of methane and possible atmospheric or surface processes that may produce it. "Based on our experience on Earth, the methane production could be linked to volcanic or hydro-thermal activity on Mars. The High Resolution Stereo camera (HRSC) on Mars Express could help us identify visible activity, if it exists, on the surface of the planet", continues Formisano. Clearly, if it was the case, this would imply a very important consequence, as present volcanic activity had never been detected so far on Mars.
Other hypotheses could also be considered. On Earth, methane is a by-product of biological activity, such as fermentation. "If we have to exclude the volcanic hypothesis, we could still consider the possibility of life," concludes Formisano.
"In the next few weeks, the PFS and other instruments on-board Mars Express will continue gathering data on the Martian atmosphere, and by then we will be able to draw a more precise picture," says Agustin Chicarro, ESA Mars Express Project Scientist.
Thanks to the PFS instrument, scientists are also gathering precious data about isotopes in atmospheric molecules such as water and carbon dioxide - very important to understand how the planet was formed and to add clues on the atmospheric escape. The PFS also gives important hints about water-cloud formation on the top of volcanoes, and shows the presence of active photochemical processes in the atmosphere.
TOPICS: Breaking News; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: airpollution; fartinmartians; greenhousegases; mars
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This is very interesting. I think the most intriguing part is that Methane doesn't remain in the Martian atmosphere very long, so it seems that it is being generated somehow. A most common method of generation is BIOLOGY!
To: Frank_Discussion
Methane, unless it is continuously produced by a source, only survives in the Martian atmosphere for a few hundreds of years because it quickly oxidises to form water and carbon dioxide, both present in the Martian atmosphere. So, there must be a mechanism that refills the atmosphere with methane. Marvin eating chili on Satudays?
2
posted on
03/30/2004 12:28:11 PM PST
by
dirtboy
(Howard, we hardly knew ye. Not that we're complaining, mind you...)
To: Frank_Discussion
AHA!
Cows killed the Martians!
3
posted on
03/30/2004 12:28:16 PM PST
by
tiamat
("Just a Bronze-Age Gal, Trapped in a Techno World!")
To: Frank_Discussion
It wasn't me!
It wasn't me!
It wasn't me!
It wasn't me!
It wasn't me!
4
posted on
03/30/2004 12:28:59 PM PST
by
WhiteGuy
(Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...)
To: dirtboy
This is going to be a fun thread. :)
5
posted on
03/30/2004 12:29:20 PM PST
by
murdoog
(I changed my tagline back)
To: Frank_Discussion
Don't cows produce methane? ;-)
6
posted on
03/30/2004 12:29:54 PM PST
by
Moonman62
To: dirtboy
Yes, he's been using the Habenero Demodulator-Transmogrifier DX-10!
;-)
7
posted on
03/30/2004 12:29:57 PM PST
by
Frank_Discussion
(May the wings of Liberty never lose a feather!)
To: Frank_Discussion
Proof for the existence of politics on Mars?
8
posted on
03/30/2004 12:30:01 PM PST
by
thoughtomator
(Voting Bush because there is no reasonable alternative)
To: Frank_Discussion
Mars Express is doing very well. Did they image the Cydonia region yet?
9
posted on
03/30/2004 12:30:30 PM PST
by
RightWhale
(Theorems link concepts; proofs establish links)
To: WhiteGuy
I guess it was the dog, then.
To: WhiteGuy
He who dealt it smelt it! (Nice hang time, BTW!)
11
posted on
03/30/2004 12:31:00 PM PST
by
Frank_Discussion
(May the wings of Liberty never lose a feather!)
To: WhiteGuy; hchutch; Dog Gone
He who smelt it, dealt it.
12
posted on
03/30/2004 12:31:40 PM PST
by
Poohbah
("Would you mind not shooting at the thermonuclear weapons?" -- Maj. Vic Deakins, USAF)
To: thoughtomator
Proof for the existence of politics on Mars?Nah, just Ted the Swimmer....
13
posted on
03/30/2004 12:31:44 PM PST
by
cspackler
(There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.)
To: WhiteGuy
It wasn't me! Geez, light a match, pal! 8^)
14
posted on
03/30/2004 12:32:13 PM PST
by
AngryJawa
(Whatever.)
To: Frank_Discussion
Martian gas is the worst!
Lando
To: Frank_Discussion
I am wondering about Cydonia because they were supposed to image it, and they had an article 15 Mar, but it was pulled.
16
posted on
03/30/2004 12:32:36 PM PST
by
RightWhale
(Theorems link concepts; proofs establish links)
To: RightWhale
Were they supposed to look Mount Hoagland and environs? That might be neat, as I expect the cameras and scanners to be pretty discerning.
17
posted on
03/30/2004 12:32:50 PM PST
by
Frank_Discussion
(May the wings of Liberty never lose a feather!)
To: Frank_Discussion
Only one possible explanation...
To: Frank_Discussion
Great, a couple hundred million bucks to prove that Mars smells like a frat house.... </sarcasm>
19
posted on
03/30/2004 12:33:52 PM PST
by
cspackler
(There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.)
To: Frank_Discussion
Yes, the lead scientist said he would do it early in the mission.
20
posted on
03/30/2004 12:33:56 PM PST
by
RightWhale
(Theorems link concepts; proofs establish links)
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