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NASA’s Curiosity rover discovers methane on Mars
The Bell Jar ^ | October 23, 2012 | Jessica Lear |
Posted on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 9:22:07 PM by BenLurkin
NASA’s Curiosity is causing a stir in the scientific community after the Mars rover found methane on the planet. Using its on board Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, the rover was able to determine that the biotic gas methane is present on Mars.
Although methane can be produced by geologic mechanisms, it is most often associated with living organisms. This has caught the attention of many scientists who think finding methane on Mars might mean there is life on the planet. This life may not necessarily mean extraterrestrial beings, more realistically....
....scientists were expecting the rover to find methane at some level on Mars, but it was predicted to be below one part per billion. However, the variability of the methane Curiosity has found isn’t quite what was expected.
“Methane on Mars should have a lifetime of 300 years and should not be variable,” he said. “If it is variable, this is very hard to explain with present theory. It requires unexpected sources and unexpected sinks.”
