The Curiosity detected methane in the Martian atmosphere – EnergyPress

The robot sent by NASA recorded fluctuations of gas, which could give some kind of biological activity.

 The rover Curiosity fluctuations detected methane in the Martian atmosphere, opening new avenues of investigation into the sources that produce, among which could be some kind of biological activity are.

This is the main conclusion of a study published today in the American magazine “Science” and also opens a new line to study the mechanisms through which this gas is removed with unexplained speed are.

The work includes the participation of two Spanish researchers and, according to its authors, solves “the prolonged controversy” about the presence of this compound on Mars, which began more than a decade with the first detections from ground-based telescopes and later revived with the measures obtained from orbiters.

The current measures of episodic increase in the concentration of methane in the Martian atmosphere has made the instrument of Curiosity “SAM” through tunable laser spectrometer.

The results indicate that, although the levels of methane in the Martian atmosphere (specifically in the crater Gale) are generally lower than what the models predicted, it picks frequently.

This implies the gas is produced periodically by a source close but unknown, according to “Science”.

As reported by the Group for Planetary Sciences and Habitability the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (joint center of the University of Granada and the Higher Council for Scientific Research), the results are derived from a comprehensive analysis of data collected during 605 soles or Martian days.

A Martian day lasts 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35.244 seconds, about 3% more than a terrestrial one.

Since it was first announced the detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere with Telescope Canada-France-Hawaii Observatory in Mauna Kea, have succeeded Over the last years several measures of gas through various instruments, both Remote sensing from Earth and from spacecraft in orbit (Mars Express and Mars Global Surveyor).

As a very noticeable methane product of biological activity-almost all existing in the atmosphere has this origin-high expectations were opened to the possibility that this was the case also Mars.

However, in the absence of a model capable of justifying his generation, localization and rapid disappearance, detections began to question and were attributed to defects resulting from measurements, relates in Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences in a note.

Now the Curiosity has been able to obtain accurate measurements: the “SAM” instrument has detected baseline methane concentration around 0.7 parts per billion by volume and confirmed episodic event increased to 10 Sometimes this value for a period of 60 sols (Martian days).

As for why these jets methane are sporadic, this work points to a correlation with certain environmental variables, such as relative humidity or room temperature.

These measurements are taken by the REMS (a weather station made in Spain) instrument and the work suggests that, for example, higher pressure may be more peaks methane.

However, this still need to check in later studies.

This work, along with another who published “Journal of Geophysical Research” on the localization of organic compounds such as clorobenceno- on the crater floor Gale, were presented today at the Congress of Geophysics (AGU Fall Meeting) in San Francisco (USA).

On the Spanish side, participated Javier Martín Torres, the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, and Peace Zorzano the Center for Astrobiology (INTA and CSIC). (By: EFE).

 

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