Mars' Methane Belch: Sign Of Life?

NASA Study Says Methane Gas On Planet Could Signal Microbial Life - Or It Could Be From Rocks

(AP)  A surprising and mysterious belch of methane gas on Mars hints at possible microbial life underground, but also could come from changes in rocks, a new NASA study found.

The presence of methane on Mars could be significant because by far most of the gas on Earth is a byproduct of life - from animal digestion and decaying plants and animals.

Past studies indicated no regular methane on Mars. But new research using three ground-based telescopes confirmed that nearly 21,000 tons of methane were released all at once during the late summer of 2003, according to a study published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science.

"This raises the probability substantially that life was there or still survives at the present," study author Michael Mumma of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center told The Associated Press. "We think the probability is much higher now based on this evidence."

But Mumma also said claims of life need far more evidence and this isn't nearly enough.

The Mars belch is similar to what comes out of the waters near Santa Barbara, California, which comes from decaying life in the sea floor. Microbes in the Arctic and other extreme Earth environments that don't use oxygen still release methane and they have been examples of the type of life astronomers look for on other planets.

By 2006, most of the methane had disappeared from the Martian atmosphere, adding to the mystery of the gas, Mumma wrote.

Until the study, astronomers had debated whether "whiffs of methane" on Mars were real, said Brown University geologist Jack Mustard, who wasn't part of the research. That debate is pretty much over with this paper, he said.

Now "we can start the even more contentious debate about the source," said Carnegie Institution astronomer Alan Boss, an expert on looking for life on other planets. "Is it from life (past or present) buried below the surface of Mars, or does it come from a more prosaic source such as geochemical processing of rocks?"

Mustard said the discovery is "intriguing, exciting and definitely worth pursuing" but he leans against it being from life.

The methane was released in the Martian western hemisphere, near an area called Nili Fossae. That spot was considered but rejected last month as a possible landing site for NASA's next Martian rover.

[toolmangler-2009]

Mars farts, scientists gasp.

[fossilgeek]

scienceman1 said:
LET''''S see average minds writing in here say there cant be life on Mars and scientist say it is so Humm??? I wonder who is right?

I say:
Very generous assessment, scienceman. As for me, I rarely see many minds on the CBS comment zone that I would rate as high as average. Before this is over, I suspect someone will assert that VP Cheney hitched a ride on Bigfoot''s UFO from Atlantis to spread global warming to Mars...

[smurfcrusher]

"Just keep repeating...of all the bazillions of stars, the bazillions of planets, we CAN''''''''T be alone. Maybe, or maybe not.
Posted by matter77

But we''''ll never know if we don''''t look. How can we educate ourselves if we don''''t probe? Maybe finding that answer and other discoveries during the process may benefit mankind."

Posted by Displeased

I agree with Displeased. What bothers me is the lack of explanation -why- methane indicates possible life on Mars (especially given that Olympus Mons may not be extinct after all), when Titan is in a deep freeze and spotted with lakes of methane.

The latter example tells me hydrcarbons, including but not necessarily limited to methane, are naturally occurring in abundance.

[displeased]

Just keep repeating...of all the bazillions of stars, the bazillions of planets, we CAN''''T be alone. Maybe, or maybe not.
Posted by matter77

But we''ll never know if we don''t look. How can we educate ourselves if we don''t probe? Maybe finding that answer and other discoveries during the process may benefit mankind.

[matter77]

These bionuts have all but ruined the American Space Program.

Hey look! That pink rock has some squiggly lines on it... it must be life! Ahhh, too bad. Well, there''s always the probe to the Planet Zanadu next year. Be sure to suck up another hundred million $ for that. Oh there''s a few molecules of water so there must be a hotel nearby. No? How about a single carbon molecule? Yeah, here''s a single carbon molecule, so there must be an ancient civilization buried here. I knew it!!!

Only in generations to come will the lunacy of this obsession with finding life elsewhere at the exclusion of everything, be seen plainly for what it is. I don''t know if there is life on other planets, but I do know this. Never before have so many people believed something so fervently with absolutely no evidence whatsoever.

Just keep repeating...of all the bazillions of stars, the bazillions of planets, we CAN''T be alone. Maybe, or maybe not. But this statement is like something from the Jim Jones camp. It''s crazy. Chance isn''t some kind of force. This statement is like saying "of all the grains of sand on all the beaches in the whole world, surely one of them must speak French!"
These bionuts have made a mockery of Science altogether.

[smurfcrusher]

"Excuse me smurfcrusher, but you should do your homework before being allowed to sit at your keyboard. Titan has active volcanism; Mars does not. I''''ll let you spend a couple of days on your own figuring out what that might mean. (sheesh! the audacity of stupidity.) "
---------------

Posted by Ruger338WM

Your trite remarks reflect significant ignorance.
Perhaps you''ve never heard of Olympus Mons, largest known volcano in the solar system.

Your assumptions are flawed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_Mons#Volcanism

"Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, the result of highly fluid lava flowing out of volcanic vents over a long period of time, and is much wider than it is tall; the average slope of Olympus Mons'' flanks is very gradual. In 2004 the Mars Express orbiter imaged old lava flows on the flanks of Olympus Mons. Based on crater size and frequency counts, the surface of this western scarp has been dated from 115 million years old down to a region that is only 2 million years old.[10] This is very recent in geological terms, suggesting that the mountain may yet have some ongoing volcanic activity."

[nojoy01]

Glad that NASA is spending our money wisely....buuuurrrrp
Posted by kevinkkloste

Yes, I agree. It sure beats throwing money to the middle east.

Posted by Displeased at 04:09 PM : Jan 15, 2009

Now, if we can just get our cars to run on methane and produce water as exhaust we can A: Give the cattle industry another source of income. B: Stop and roll back the effects of Global Warming. & C: Stop ''throwing money to the middle east.''

[rf35]

Marvin needs to lay off the beans and beer.

[alaska47]

Excuse me smurfcrusher, but you should do your homework before being allowed to sit at your keyboard. Titan has active volcanism; Mars does not. I''ll let you spend a couple of days on your own figuring out what that might mean. (sheesh! the audacity of stupidity.)

[lipar1]

Have they found cows on Mars yet?

[lipar1]

Have they found cows on Mars yet?

[scienceman1-2009]

LET''S see average minds writing in here say there cant be life on Mars and scientist say it is so Humm??? I wonder who is right?

[sincity_q]

All in all, I think there is a far better chance of bugs that burp methane on Mars, than finding any form of intelligent life in Washington DC - planet Earth.

[thinkharder-]

Ridiculous. The presence of methane does NOT mean life exists.

Posted by smurfcrusher at 06:20 PM : Jan 15, 2009

The release must be due to eother a geologic or biological process. Organisms during the processing of nutrients release methane...they are a large contributor to our own atmospheric methane levels.

It could also be due to certain gelogic processes like iron oxidation. At the very least it shows that Mars is not a dead orbiting rock. It is, or was quite active at sometime.

[smurfcrusher]

OK - let me get this straight.
There are TRACES of Methane in Mars'' atmosphere, therefore life may exist!

Does this mean Saturn''s moon, Titan is TEEMING with life? After all, it has HUGE quantities of methane!

Ridiculous. The presence of methane does NOT mean life exists.

[displeased]

Glad that NASA is spending our money wisely....buuuurrrrp
Posted by kevinkkloste

Yes, I agree. It sure beats throwing money to the middle east.