Methane On Mars

We have your satellite if you want it back send 20 billion in Martian money. No funny business or you will never see it again.

— Reportedly on a wall in a hall at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, California, after losing contact with the Mars Polar Lander.

Scientists have discovered ‘large amounts’ of methane gas on Mars. Of course now we get all the theories about microbes ‘producing’ the gas. Via eviewweek.com:

Scientists have been eager to determine whether Mars, the fourth planet from the sun and Earth’s neighbor, had conditions in the past or present to support life. The new observations, made by using telescopes in Hawaii, did not directly detect life but found tantalizing evidence suggesting it was possible.

The scientists said if methane is coming from microbes, they likely live far below the frigid surface at depths warm enough for liquid water to exist. Liquid water is considered one of the essential ingredients for life. Water is known to exist on Mars. Robot rovers have sampled ice from the surface.

Methane is very common in our solar system. If you want ‘large amounts’ of methane gas take a look at the gas giant planets and, in particular, Neptune:

Neptune is surrounded by thick layers of clouds in rapid motion. Winds blow these clouds at speeds up to 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) per hour. The clouds farthest from Neptune’s surface consist mainly of frozen methane. Scientists believe that Neptune’s darker clouds, which lie below the clouds of methane, are composed of hydrogen sulfide.

Or Saturn:

Most scientists believe Saturn is a giant ball of gas that has no solid surface. However, the planet seems to have a hot solid inner core of iron and rocky material. Around this dense central part is an outer core that probably consists of ammonia, methane, and water. A layer of highly compressed, liquid metallic hydrogen surrounds the outer core. Above this layer lies a region composed of hydrogen and helium in a viscous (syruplike) form. The hydrogen and helium become gaseous near the planet’s surface and merge with its atmosphere, which consists chiefly of the same two elements.

Technorati Tags: Planets, Gas Giants, Mars

Powered by ScribeFire.