Methane On Mars... From Geology or Biology?

Plumes of methane gas detected over certain locations on Mars in 2003 could point to active geological processes on the red planet, or perhaps even to methane-burping microbes deep below the Martian surface, a new study reports.

There is no firm evidence for life on the red planet, however, despite news reports early today suggesting as much. Rather, scientists are puzzled by the new findings.

Methane, a small (but important) constituent of Earth's atmosphere, makes up an even smaller percentage of Mars' atmosphere (which is 95 percent carbon dioxide), so detecting it on the red planet is a rare event.

In fact, it wasn't detected at all before 2003, when the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter (which is still circling the planet) picked up a possible methane signature.

A search conducted with three ground-based telescopes that covered 90 percent of the Martian surface over three Mars years (7 Earth years) detected extended plumes of methane that varied with the seasons and seemed to emanate from specific locations. These include the Arabia Terra, Nili Fossae and Syrtis Major regions of Mars. The work was supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

http://www.livescience.com/space/090115-mars-methane-news.html

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