What Does Martian Life Mean?
The Secrets of The Martain Life Exposed
The Martain Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet
methane concentrations on Mars This image shows concentrations of Methane discovered on Mars. Credit: NASA
Mars now is a world of cold and {lonely|solitary and cold} deserts, seemingly without life of any kind, at least on the surface.appears like Mars has been cold and dry for billions of years, with an atmosphere so thin, any liquid water on the surface quickly boils away while the sun's ultraviolet radiation scorches the {ground|the ground is scorched by the sun's ultraviolet radiation|the earth scorches|the ultraviolet radiation of the sun scorches the ground}.|}
But there's evidence of a warmer and wetter {past|a history that is warmer and wetter} — characteristics resembling dry riverbeds and minerals that form in the existence of water suggest water once flowed through The Martain littoral. kinds of life, scientists wonder if life might have risen on Mars, and if it did, what became of it as the The Martain climate changed|Since liquid water is required for all known forms of life, scientists wonder if life could have risen on Mars, as the The Martain climate changed, and if it did, what became of it|Since liquid water is required for all known types of life, scientists wonder if life could have risen on Mars, as the The Martain climate changed and if it did, what became of it}.
New research reveals there is hope for Mars though. The first unequivocal detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars indicates the planet is still alive, in either a biologic or geologic sense, according to a team of university and NASA scientists.
instantly destroyed in the Martain atmosphere in many different manners, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 signals some continuing procedure is discharging the gas," said Dr. Michael Mumma of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.|} "At northern {mid-summer, methane is released at a speed comparable to that of the massive hydrocarbon seep at Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, Calif."|}
notion of potential Mars methane source Scientists do not yet understand enough to say with certainty what the source of the Martain methane is, but this artist's concept depicts a possibility|This artist's concept depicts a possibility, although artist notion of possible Mars methane source Scientists don't yet know enough to say with certainty what the source of the The Martain methane is}. In this illustration, as well as the planet's internal heat|the planet's internal heat, carbon dioxide as well as subsurface water|carbon dioxide, subsurface water and also the planet's internal heat|carbon dioxide subsurface water and the planet's internal heat} combine to release methane. Although we don't have evidence on Mars of active volcanoes today, historical methane trapped in ice "cages" might now be released. Credit: NASA/Susan Twardy
Bigger picture Methane — four atoms of hydrogen bound to a carbon atom — is the key component of natural gas on Earth.|} It's of interest to astrobiologists as they digest nutrients, because organisms release much of the methane in Earth. Nevertheless, other strictly geological processes, like oxidation of iron release methane. "{Right now, we do not have enough information to tell if biology or geology — or both — is producing the methane on Mars," said Mumma.|} "But it does tell us that the planet continues to be alive, at least in a geologic sense. It's as if Mars is challenging astrobiologists, saying, hey, learn what this means." Mumma is lead author of a paper on this research appearing in Science Express Jan. 15.
If {microscopic The Martain life is creating the methane, it probably dwells far below the surface, where it's still warm enough for liquid water to exist|If the methane is being produced by infinitesimal The Martain life, it probably dwells much below the surface, where it is still warm enough for liquid water|If the methane is being produced by infinitesimal The Martain life, it probably lives much below the surface, where it is still not cool enough for liquid water to exist|If microscopic The Martain life is producing the methane, it probably resides far below the surface, where it's still not cool enough for liquid water}. Liquid water, along with and also a supply of carbon|a supply of carbon plus energy sources}, are crucial for all known types of life.
"On Earth, microorganisms thrive {2 to 3 kilometers (about 1.2 to 1.9 miles) beneath the Witwatersrand basin of South Africa, where natural radioactivity splits water molecules into molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen.|} The organisms make use of the hydrogen for energy. It {might be possible for similar organisms to survive for billions of years below the permafrost layer on Mars, where water is liquid, radiation supplies energy, and carbon dioxide provides carbon," said Mumma.|}
amassed in such underground zones might be discharged into the atmosphere if pores or fissures open during the warm seasons, connecting the deep zones to the atmosphere at crater walls or canyons," said Mumma.
|}"Microbes that produced methane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide were among the first types of life on Earth," noted Dr. Carl Pilcher, Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute which partly supported the research. "If life ever existed on Mars, it's practical to believe that its metabolism may have involved making methane from The Martain atmospheric carbon dioxide."
Yet, it's potential a geologic process created the Martain {methane, either now|either now the Martain methane|either now, the Martain methane} or eons past. On Earth, the conversion of iron oxide (rust) into the serpentine group of minerals creates methane, as well as on Mars this process could carry on using and also the planet's internal heat|the planet's internal heat, carbon dioxide, and also water|carbon dioxide, water, as well as the planet's internal heat|carbon dioxide, water, and also the internal heat of the planet}. Although we do not have evidence on Mars of active volcanoes nowadays, ancient methane trapped in ice "cages" called clathrates might now be released.
attentively observing Earth over several Mars years (and all The Martain seasons) with NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility, run by the University of Hawaii, and the W. M. Keck telescope, both at Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
|}devices attached to the telescopes to produce the detection|Spectrometer devices attached to the telescopes to create the discovery were used by the team}. Spectrometers spread light into its component colors, like a prism separates white light into a rainbow. The team looked for dark regions in particular places along the rainbow (light spectrum) where sun reflected from the The Martain surface|sunlight reflected from the The Martain surface was being absorbed by methane}. They discovered three such areas, called absorption lines, which together are a definitive signature of methane, according to the team. They were able to distinguish lines from The Martain methane from the methane in {Earth's atmosphere|from the methane in Earth's atmosphere from The Martain methane|from The Martain methane from the methane in the atmosphere of Earth's|from the methane in the atmosphere of Earth's from The Martain methane} since the {motion of the Red Planet|the Red Planet's movement} changed the place of the The Martain lines, much as shift pitch as it passes by|a speeding ambulance causes its siren as it passes by, to shift pitch|a speeding ambulance's siren to change pitch as it passes by is caused by it|a speeding ambulance's siren as it passes by, to modify pitch is caused by it}.
detected and mapped multiple plumes of methane on Mars, one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane," said Dr. Geronimo Villanueva of the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Villanueva is stationed at NASA Goddard and is co-author of the paper.|} "The plumes were emitted during the warmer seasons — spring and summer — {perhaps as the permafrost blocking cracks and fissures vaporized, allowing methane to seep into the The Martain air.|} Oddly, some plumes had water vapor while others did not," said Villanueva.
According to the team, the plumes were seen over regions that demonstrate evidence of {ancient earth ice or running water|running water or ancient earth ice|ancient earth ice or water that was flowing|water that was flowing or ancient ground ice}. For instance, plumes appeared over northern hemisphere areas for example east of and also the south east quadrant of Syrtis Major|the south-east quadrant of Syrtis Major, the Nili Fossae region, and also Arabia Terra|the Nili Fossae region, Arabia Terra, and the southeast quadrant of Syrtis Major|the Nili Fossae region Arabia Terra, and also the southeast quadrant of Syrtis Major}, an early volcano 1,200 kilometers (about 745 miles) .
It is going to require future assignments|Future missions will be taken by it}, like NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, to find the origin of the The Martain methane. One method to tell if life is the origin of the gas is by quantifying isotope ratios. Isotopes are heftier variants of an element; for {example,|an element} deuterium is a heftier version of hydrogen. In molecules that contain hydrogen, like water and methane, the rare deuterium {occasionally replaces a hydrogen atom|a hydrogen atom is sometimes replaced by the rare deuterium|a hydrogen atom is occasionally replaced by the deuterium that is rare|the deuterium that is rare sometimes replaces a hydrogen atom}. favors to use the lighter isotopes, if the methane has less deuterium compared to the water released with it on Mars, it is a sign that life is producing the methane|Since life prefers to utilize the lighter isotopes, in the event the methane has less deuterium than the water discharged with it on Mars, it is a sign that the methane is being produced by life|Since life favors to work with the lighter isotopes, in the event the methane has less deuterium than the water discharged on Mars with it, it is an indicator that the methane is being produced by life}. financed by NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program and the NASA Astrobiology Institute|NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program and the NASA Astrobiology Institute financed the research}.