The Mars Curiosity rover detected a spike of methane on the Red Planet. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) Is there life on Mars? That eternal question almost seems cliché in space exploration circles, but, nonetheless, we’re still waiting with bated breath for an answer. While it’s not time to exhale just yet, NASA’s Curiosity rover has sniffed out methane in Mars’ atmosphere. And that means that something, whether living or not, is actively creating the gas on Mars.
NASA scientists believed they had closed the book regarding methane on the Red Planet after the rover failed to detect the gas after eight months. In August 2013, scientists announced there was no methane on Earth’s cousin. But they were in for a surprise just two months later. While exploring its bowl-like landing site in the Gale Crater, Curiosity detected a major spike in methane levels, which quickly dissipated months later. Over the course of ...
