Methane on Mars

[ToSeek]

Astrobiology Magazine begins a series of articles:

Interplanetary Whodunit
Methane on Mars (http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid= 1651&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0)


On Earth, methane is mostly produced by life. The recent detection of methane in the martian atmosphere therefore has given rise to much speculation about the possibility for life on the Red Planet. Part one of this four-part series about methane and Mars provides an overview of the recent findings.

EDIT: link corrected. :oops:

[Swift]

Astrobiology Magazine begins a series of articles:

Interplanetary Whodunit
Methane on Mars (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050720/APN/507200802&cachetime=3&template=dateline)


On Earth, methane is mostly produced by life. The recent detection of methane in the martian atmosphere therefore has given rise to much speculation about the possibility for life on the Red Planet. Part one of this four-part series about methane and Mars provides an overview of the recent findings.
That seems to be the wrong link. :-?

[01101001]

That seems to be the wrong link. :-?

May I try?

Interplanetary Whodunit
Methane on Mars (http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid= 1651&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0)

(Unless... maybe the real whodunit is: who killed Scotty?)

[ToSeek]

Part Two:

Methane on Earth (http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid= 1657&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0)


On Earth, methane is mostly produced by life. The recent detection of methane in the martian atmosphere therefore has given rise to much speculation about the possibility for life on the Red Planet. In part two of this four-part series, the various ways nature produces methane are considered.

[ToSeek]

Part Three:

Mystery Methane Maker (http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid= 1660&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0)


If the global concentration of methane on Mars is 10 ppb, then an average of 4 grams of methane is being destroyed every second by sunlight. That means about 126 metric tons of methane must be produced each year to ensure a steady concentration of 10 ppb.

[ToSeek]

Part Four

Proving the Case (http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid= 1665&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0)


Are microbes making the methane that's been found on Mars, or does the hydrocarbon gas come from geological processes? It's the question that everybody wants to answer, but nobody can. What will it take to convince the jury?

[R.A.F.]

What will it take to convince the jury?

Road trip!!! :lol:

[ToSeek]

New Scientist article:

Methane on Mars: the plot thickens (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7775&feedId=online-news_rss20)


Methane on Mars may be produced at rates 3000 times higher than previously thought and partially destroyed by dust storms, controversial new research suggests.

The work is sure to reignite the debate over a possible biological origin for the gas, but another team reports that subsurface volcanism alone - and not life - can account for the gas.

[ToSeek]

Methane on Mars (http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1585_1.asp)


Mars keeps surprising the experts. Consider methane (CH4), for example. On Earth, some 90 percent of this gas comes from biological sources that include cows, termites, rice plants, and other lifeforms. Geological processes such as volcanism contribute hardly any methane at all.

[crosscountry]

is it possible, via spectral analysis, to find sources of Methane?


is seems we could do that. If we can track an origin then the next rovers/men to get there could look specifically for Methane production.

[ToSeek]

Volcanoes ruled out for Martian methane (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8256&feedId=online-news_rss20)


New observations of the Martian atmosphere show no trace of sulphurous fumes. The finding rules out active volcanoes as the source of the Red Planet's mysterious methane, but fails to resolve the question of where the methane comes from.

Methane breaks down when exposed to sunlight, so its discovery in the Martian atmosphere two years ago meant that something on the planet was continually producing more of the gas. Most astronomers suspected its presence was the result of a geological process, while a few suggested the methane was the signature of past or present life.

[A.DIM]

I disagree with the final statement by Lyons that "biogenesis" should be a last resort for explaining the presence of methane. I understand why it is, I just disagree with it.

Work Bolsters Life on Mars Theories (http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18178).

So how long before people are ready to accept even microbial life on Mars?

[Nereid]

I disagree with the final statement by Lyons that "biogenesis" should be a last resort for explaining the presence of methane. I understand why it is, I just disagree with it.

Work Bolsters Life on Mars Theories (http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18178).

So how long before people are ready to accept even microbial life on Mars?When it's found in situ?

[Maddad]

All this is probably just a pointless exercise. Even if we eliminate every known non-biological mechanism for the production of methane, we still will not be able to conclusively say it proves the existence of life on Mars. Someone could reasonably object that there might be such a mechanism that we just have not thought of yet. We will not conclusively know until we can culture Martian microbes.

[John Kierein]

Maybe the methane comes from Titan. Interplanetary probes from Titan are bringing along methane. Could make for a followup to War of the Worlds.

[Tacitus]

I think it's fine to be conservative -- that's the way science is supposed to work. Extraordinary claims and all that... It can be very frustrating for the general public who typically prefer more sensational theories and conclusions - hence all those career opportunites in the field of pseudo-science.

[Joff]

Mars keeps surprising the experts. Consider methane (CH4), for example. On Earth, some 90 percent of this gas comes from biological sources that include cows, termites, rice plants, and other lifeforms. Geological processes such as volcanism contribute hardly any methane at all. Rice plants? I think not. Rice paddies, absolutely.

[Archer17]

I disagree with the final statement by Lyons that "biogenesis" should be a last resort for explaining the presence of methane. I understand why it is, I just disagree with it.

Work Bolsters Life on Mars Theories (http://www.astrobiology.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18178).

So how long before people are ready to accept even microbial life on Mars?I accept the possibilty A.DIM. But that don't mean a 'hill of beans' as we would say here in the "Keystone State" without the results. That's the way it as science sees it .. but --

This might surprise you my Kentuckian friend .. I do believe there is live on Mars.

[Jakenorrish]

I've an idea that due to Mars being a smaller, colder world that methane is produced via the same processes as here on Earth, but in much smaller quantities. I think that life and processes within the planet are responsible, just as they are on Earth.

The scientific community seems to be trying to isolate one process or the other as being responsible. Why? Couldn't more than one process be taking place on Mars which results in methane?