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Updated July 1st, 2021 at 16:45 IST

'Scientists close to unravelling 'mystery' of methane on Mars', says NASA

Methane detections at Mars have long captivated NASA planetary scientists as gas is generally produced by the microbes that help livestock digest food on Earth.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Nasa
IMAGE: NASA | Image:self
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New studies could unravel the mysteries of the presence of methane gas on Mars detected by NASA’s Curiosity rover during the Red planet's summer. The methane detections at Mars have long captivated planetary scientists as the gas is generally produced by the microbes that help the livestock digest food on Earth. While there is no known existence of life on the Martian surface, the presence of methane has been an exciting subject for NASA scientists because it may imply that microbes were, or are, living on the Red Planet. 

“Before identifying the sources of methane on Mars, scientists must settle a question that’s been gnawing at them: Why do some instruments detect the gas while others don’t?” NASA wrote in a release on July 1.

Meanwhile, Chris Webster, lead of the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) instrument in the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) chemistry lab aboard the Curiosity rover stated, “When the Trace Gas Orbiter came on board in 2016, I was fully expecting the orbiter team to report that there’s a small amount of methane everywhere on Mars.” NASA’s Curiosity rover has repeatedly detected methane above the surface of Gale Crater, while the ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has failed to do so. 

[NASA's Curiosity rover took this selfie on June 15, 2018. Credit: NASA]

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter was the first in a series of Mars missions in 2016 that was undertaken jointly by the two space agencies, ESA and Roscosmos. The key goal of the mission was to gain a better understanding of methane and other atmospheric gases which may be present on Mars although in concentrations less than 1% of the atmosphere. The detection is key to understanding the possible presence of biological or geological activity on the Red planet’s surface. According to scientists since methane is short-lived in geological time, its presence on Mars implies the existence of an active, current source, though it remains unclear whether this source could be biological or chemical. 

[This photo was taken on March 19, 2017, by the Mars Hand Lens Imager camera on the arm of NASA’s Curiosity rover. The image helped mission team members inspect the condition of Curiosity’s six wheels. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS]

One-half part per billion methane

NASA’s trace gas orbiter TLS measured less than one-half part per billion in the volume of methane on average in Gale Crater earlier. Speculations have also emerged that the rover itself may be releasing the gas. As the spring will now arrive on the Red Planet, the  Sun’s heat will once again begin to warm up the soil, which will stir the methane gas to percolate up from the ground and release back into the Mars’ atmosphere, John Moores, a planetary scientist at York University in Toronto, Canada told a conference on 24 October. 

An intense plume of methane gas was detected in 2009 which was observed by both the telescopes installed on Earth as well as the spacecraft orbiting Mars. As the sun’s heat will warm up the Red planet’s soil, there is a possibility that the highest methane levels do appear and help scientists unveil more about the methane’s ultimate source. 

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Published July 1st, 2021 at 16:45 IST

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