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Tag Archives: 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
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, MSL, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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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
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
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
Posted in Reports
Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, Mars Odyssey, methane, NASA, Teal Ridge, THEMIS, THEMIS Image of the Day, Thermal Emission Imaging System
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Trace Gas Orbiter: First science results
New evidence of the impact of the recent planet-encompassing dust storm on water in the atmosphere, and a surprising lack of methane, are among the scientific highlights of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter’s first year in orbit. Two papers [here … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, global dust storms, methane, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter, water vapor
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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
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, ESA, European Space Agency, Gale Crater, Mars Express, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, MEX, MSL, PFS, Planetary Fourier Spectrometer
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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
Posted in Reports
Tagged Curiosity, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, MSL, NASA, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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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
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, methane, Mount Sharp, MSL, Murray Formation, NASA, organic molecules, Vera Rubin Ridge
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ExoMars poised to start science mission
The ExoMars orbiter will soon begin its search for gases that may be linked to active geological or biological activity on the Red Planet. The Trace Gas Orbiter has reached its final orbit after a year of ‘aerobraking’ that ended … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged clathrates, ESA, European Space Agency, ExoMars, ExoMars 2016, ground ice, methane, Roscosmos, TGO, Trace Gas Orbiter
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James Webb Space Telescope will investigate how Mars went from wet to dry
The planet Mars has fascinated scientists for over a century. Today, it is a frigid desert world with a carbon dioxide atmosphere 100 times thinner than Earth’s. But evidence suggests that in the early history of our solar system, Mars … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged HST, Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, JWST, methane, NASA, water vapor
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