They are not green. These are not even the little men. But NASA, the US space agency, thinks he has found evidence of life on Mars. Or rather it is the Curiosity robot, which crosses the Red Planet since August 2012, which made the discovery, if confirmed, could be one of the largest scientific revelations of history. This is the journal Science that reveals this important information.
The Curiosity different measurement tools found there are two months of methane concentration peaks which, NASA could mean the presence of living organisms on Mars. However, the agency is at present unable to accurately identify the source of production of methane gas. One hypothesis would be the presence of a close body of the bacteria. Microbial life could be present at this time on Mars.
A methane concentration ten times higher than the average
However, NASA scientists believe that the methane concentration in the atmosphere of Mars is infinitesimal. It would be 0.7 ppb or 4000 times less than the Earth’s atmosphere. During the recorded lines, the concentration was ten times higher than average. A peak certainly, but still minimal. In addition, it remains to be determined categorically behind this methane. Also near the bacteria body, the gas could also come from clathrates, ice molecules that contain significant amounts of methane and can release their contents when the temperature rises.
But this discovery comes Curiosity confirm the already mentioned track for several years. A satellite orbiting nearby – all relative – March 2009 he himself had found traces of methane in the atmosphere of the planet. Curiosity, which is currently sailing in the area of the huge crater Gale, must continue its exploration in an attempt to shed light on this fascinating mystery. We already know that this place was a long time ago a vast lake (155 km) filled with water, as evidenced by traces of sediments recently discovered by the robot. The question is whether a bacterial life is also present
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