The existence of methane shows that Mars is a living planet
The existence of the gas, which is a key to life as known on Earth, was released today by a report in Science magazine published an issue dedicated to the World Year of astronomy.
spectrometers NASA telescopes in Hawaii detected at least three trails of methane on the surface of the planet.
"The atmosphere of Mars quickly destroys methane in various ways. Therefore, our discovery of methane in the hemisphere north in 2003 indicates that there is a flotation gas, "said Michael Mumma, Space Flight Center of NASA in Maryland.
" A mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere methane is released at a rate comparable to after percolation at a site in California, "said Mumma, one of the authors of the report published by Science.
Methane, whose molecule consists of a carbon atom attached to four hydrogen atoms (CH4) is the main component of natural gas on Earth. also involved in other geological processes such as oxidation of iron.
Moreover, many living organisms on Earth emit gas during the process gas digestion of nutrients.
"Right now we do not have enough information to ensure that the methane on Mars is the product of biological or geological processes," said the scientist.
However, the mere existence of methane "tells us that the planet is still alive, at least in the geological sense," he added.
"We see multiple trails on Mars, one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane," said Geronimo Villanueva, a scientist at the Catholic University in Washington.
"These trails were issued during the warm seasons, spring and summer perhaps through the cracks that occurred in the ice, "he added.
Scientists have speculated that if there is a biological process this would be happening under the surface of Mars, where water is frozen and could not find samples of carbon.
"On Earth, microorganisms multiply to between 2,000 and 3,500 meters deep, where the radioactivity between water molecules," he said.
A water molecule consists of two oxygen atoms and one hydrogen atom (H20 ).
Mumma said that these microorganisms are supplied with power from hydrogen, a process that would be used by similar bodies to survive billions of years under the frozen surface of Mars.
gases such as methane would be released through the deep fissures that connect the land with the atmosphere, especially during the spring, said the scientist.