A local increase in methane concentrations was spotted by the robotic vehicle Curiosity, a discovery that is likely to indicate the presence of living microorganisms in the area. The measurements came from the Gale Crater on the Red Planet, which was examined by the robot for two months. Thus, the resulting data show that the average methane levels showed a local increase of 1000%.
The discovery can prove to be historic, as methane production is considered to be one of the basic characteristics of biological activity, at least based on life forms existing on Earth. Thus, it is likely to mean that in the past, or even today, the Red Planet "hosted" living beings.
On the other hand, for the moment at least, it can not be excluded that emissions are due to a different cause, such as a geological phenomenon. "It's impossible to come up with safe conclusions from a mere measurement," said Paul Spacefield, one of the authors of the article describing the discovery and researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
"All we can do right now is to appreciate the various possible scenarios. Even if there are actually microbes on Mars, which produce methane, it is just a guess at the moment, "he added.
A hole that opened the Curiosity on a rock on Mars in order to collect a sample.
Η study was published online yesterday on the magazine's website Science. In addition to the above finding, in it the scientists reveal that the atmospheric levels of methane on the Red Planet are about 0,7 parts per billion (ppb). This number is smaller than previous estimates and calculations, but much larger than previous similar measurements by Curiosity.
These measurements were published last year, suggesting that there is no trace of methane in the Martian atmosphere. This time, however, scientists have found a way to gather larger gaseous samples so that new data is more reliable.
Last year, the news that there was no methane on Mars disappointed many researchers, as it seemed to mean that there was no biological activity on the planet. The new one research however, it raises hopes, since it may indicate that the conditions on Mars were not so "inhospitable" for any form of life after all.
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