United States – NASA has detected a gas on Mars “produced by living organisms on Earth,” which has baffled scientists regarding what might be hiding on the red planet.
The Curiosity rover discovered a continuous flow of methane gas from Gale Crater, which appears at different times of the day and fluctuates seasonally.
The research team suggested that methane might be lurking beneath the hardened salt, and would only escape when temperatures on Mars rose, or when Curiosity moved above the crust.
On Earth, this simple molecule, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, is usually a sign of life.
It turned out that the spot from which methane gas emerged, in Gale Crater, was the only spot on the Red Planet where Curiosity discovered the gas.
Scientists conducted experiments simulating Martian soil conditions in the laboratory, to understand what might happen in reality. They discovered that over a long period, salts (perchlorates) emerge from deep within the rocky and dusty surface of the planet, or what is known as “regolith.”
“Toxic perchlorates” are abundant in ice trapped under the surface of Mars. As the ice gradually evaporates, the salty vapor filters out and leaves part of it behind.
When a sufficient amount of salts accumulate in the regolith, it forms a kind of shell or crust.
“On Mars, such a process might occur naturally over a long period of time in areas of shallow permafrost, and it may be possible for enough salt to accumulate in the upper layer to form the crust,” the scientists wrote.
As the salty steam rises, methane gas of unknown origin (so far) also rises. It might have come from “some kind of living organism,” or it might result from geological processes beneath the surface of Mars, which remain invisible to scientists.
The study was published in the journal JGR Planets.
Source: Daily Mail
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2024-04-25 10:50:47
