There Is Definitely Methane on Mars, Scientists Say. But Is It a Sign of Life?

space,com ^ | 04/01/2019 | Mike Wall

[BenLurkin]

Curiosity rover mission recently determined that background levels of methane in Mars' atmosphere cycle seasonally, peaking in the northern summer. The six-wheeled robot has also detected two surges to date of the gas inside the Red Planet's 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale Crater — once in June 2013, and then again in late 2013 through early 2014.

These finds have intrigued astrobiologists, because methane is a possible biosignature. Though the gas can be produced by a variety of geological processes, the vast majority of methane in Earth's air is pumped out by microbes and other living creatures.

Some answers may soon be on the horizon, because that June 2013 detection has just been firmed up. Europe's Mars Express orbiter noted the spike as well from that spacecraft's perch high above the Red Planet, a new study reports.

"While previous observations, including that of Curiosity, have been debated, this first independent confirmation of a methane spike increases confidence in the detections," said study lead author Marco Giuranna, of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Rome.

And that's not all. Giuranna and his team also traced the likely source of the June 2013 plume to a geologically complex region about 310 miles (500 kilometers) east of Gale Crater.

The paper doesn't address the ultimate origin of the methane — whether it was churned out by Martian microbes or reactions involving hot water and certain types of rock. And scientists don't know if the detected methane was produced recently or long ago; it could have been trapped under the ice for eons, after all.

Mars Express will eye the potential source region in detail in the future, Giuranna said. And other spacecraft, such as the methane-sniffing Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) — part of the European-Russian ExoMars program — may do so as well.

[dp0622]

Doesn’t there have to be decomposition by something living thing (even bacteria) to produce methane, even the methane in volcanoes.

Don’t know. Just asking.

[Red Badger]

But Is It a Sign of Life?.....

No, it’s a sign of carbon and hydrogen................

[Red Badger]

There’s methane on all the gas giants and most of their moons.

All it is a sign of is there is carbon and hydrogen................

[AnalogReigns]

The fact that so much hydrocarbons are found in the solar system brings the whole peak oil theory into question.

Exactly my thoughts. Abiotic genesis....

[Rapscallion]

There is a lot of methane on earth caused naturally. Is there a problem now that we have not been told about?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin. And Mars doesn't even have a Taco Bell.

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[dp0622]

That’s it?

Thanks :)

Couldn’t find a good answer on google.

Why is it so hard to get a straight answer there sometimes!!!

[certrtwngnut]

As soon as I saw the headline about methane on Mars I knew this would be great.

[Rocky]

Carbon and hydrogen are common elements in the universe. Methane is the simplest combination of those elements.

Whether you believe that life was generated spontaneously or by divine guidance, you would need to start with compounds containing carbon and hydrogen, along with other elements. Methane would be one of the most logical building blocks, or at least an intermediate, to form more complex hydrocarbons.

So, while it is true that living things generate methane, it is also true that methane occurs many places in the universe, and must have occurred on earth before there was any life. So how in the world can anyone assume that finding methane indicates that life must have been present?

These kinds of articles are just nuts.

[antidemoncrat]

You are right: Is there gas coming form Uranus?

[seawolf101]

[rx]

I'm not sure why they don't announce that there's plant life on Mars:
 

They could also confirm humanoid life on Mars, it would seem:

[katana]

There are outer planet moons with lakes of cold liquid methane, and the universe seems to be awash in hydrocarbons. On the left below is such a lake on Titan. Right is size comparison with Lake Superior. Living things on this planet are made up of, not the original sources of, organic compounds. Why people continue to believe that fossil fuels are made of "fossils" is a puzzle. Dr. Thomas Gold nailed it years ago.

[Red Badger]

There’s lots of methane on Uranus......................

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Uranus

[Stingray51]

Yes absolutely. There is methane in lots of places in our solar system that presumably has a non-biologic origin, such as Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Titan... The “scientific consensus” seems to be that the vast majority of the Earth’s methane is has a biological source and only a tiny minority of it is the result of geologic processes.

[Red Badger]

Everybody knows there’s methane on Uranus................

[beethovenfan]

COWS? ON MARS?

[dp0622]

Especially after tacos and beer!

[Red Badger]

But is it a sign of life????????......................

[dp0622]

More like death :)