Search Results for: methane

New clues to source of Mars methane

[Ed. note: Partial report on this research appeared earlier here] A team of researchers led by scientists at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering has created a model of how methane changes on Mars throughout the day by using data … Continue reading

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Wind erosion of Mars rocks doesn’t release methane

Wind erosion has been ruled out as the primary cause of methane gas release on Mars, Newcastle University academics have shown. Methane can be produced over time through both geological and biological routes and since its first detection in the … Continue reading

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What makes martian methane vanish so quickly?

The processes behind the release and consumption of methane on Mars have been discussed since methane was measured for the first time for approximately 15 years ago. Now, an interdisciplinary research group from Aarhus University has proposed a previously overlooked … Continue reading

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Curiosity’s ‘methane mystery’ continues

[Ed. note: original June 23, 2019, story updated on June 24] Curiosity’s team conducted a follow-on methane experiment this past weekend. The results came down early Monday morning: The methane levels have sharply decreased, with less than 1 part per … Continue reading

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Mars Express saw same methane spike detected by Curiosity

A reanalysis of data collected by ESA’s Mars Express during the first 20 months of NASA’s Curiosity mission found one case of correlated methane detection, the first time an in-situ measurement has been independently confirmed from orbit. Reports of methane … Continue reading

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Closer to solving the methane mystery

Planetary scientists are getting closer to solving the puzzle of methane on Mars. New calculations could help to explain why NASA’s Curiosity rover detects peaks of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere during the planet’s northern summer. As winter gives … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Pitted cones: possible methane sources?

This observation shows relatively bright mounds scattered throughout darker and diverse surfaces in Chryse Planitia. These mounds are hundreds of meters in size. The largest of the mounds shows a central pit, similar to the collapsed craters found at the … Continue reading

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Curiosity finds ancient organic material and seasonally varying methane on Mars

[Editor’s note: press briefing video here.] NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life, as well as new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the … Continue reading

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Did bursts of methane warm early Mars?

The presence of water on ancient Mars is a paradox. There’s plenty of geographical evidence that rivers periodically flowed across the planet’s surface. Yet in the time period when these waters are supposed to have run — three to four … Continue reading

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Evidence of methane found in Mars meteorites

An international team of researchers has discovered traces of methane in Martian meteorites, a possible clue in the search for life on the Red Planet. The researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock that originated on Mars. The … Continue reading

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