Τοπική αύξηση των συγκεντρώσεων μεθανίου εντόπισε το ρομποτικό όχημα Curiosity, μια ανακάλυψη που είναι πιθανόν να υποδηλώνει την ύπαρξη ζωντανών μικροοργανισμών στην περιοχή. Οι μετρήσεις προήλθαν από τον κρατήρα Γκέιλ στον Κόκκινο Πλανήτη, τον οποίο εξέτασε για two months the robot. Thus, the resulting data show that average methane levels showed a local increase of 1000%.
The discovery may turn out to be historic, as methane production is considered one of the key features of biological activity, at least with base the life forms that exist 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.
The study was published online yesterday at the Science magazine. In addition to the above finding, scientists reveal that the atmospheric levels of methane on the Red Planet are about 0,7 parts per billion (ppb). This figure is smaller than previous estimates and calculations, but far larger than previous Curiosity measurements.
These measurements were published last year, indicating that there is no trace of methane in the Martian atmosphere. This time, however, the scientists found a way to gather larger gas samples so that the new data to be more reliable.
Last year, the news that there was no methane in Mars had disappointed several researchers, as it seemed to mean that there is no biological activity on the planet. The new research, however, raises hopes, as it may indicate that Mars conditions were not so "inhospitable" to any form of life.
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