http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/6213127.html Methane discovery means there may be life on Mars 'Extremely strong evidence' for life on Red Planet, Johnson Space Center scientist says By ERIC BERGER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle Jan. 15, 2009, 1:08PM Scientists using Earth-based telescopes have taken detailed measurements of the gas methane on Mars, a finding that supports the possibility of underground life. The scientists, from NASA and other U.S. institutions, found high concentrations of methane that are consistent with methane plumes produced by underground bacteria on Earth. The observations have reignited a life-on-Mars debate that began in 1996 when NASA astrobiologist David McKay and several other colleagues announced that a meteorite from Mars contained evidence of bacteria. Since then, in absence of more substantive proof, most scientists have discounted McKay’s findings. But that may now change. “I think this is extremely strong evidence for current life on Mars,” said McKay, who works at Johnson Space Center. “It doesn’t prove it. But, to me, that is very strong support for the microbial life theory that we have been promoting with evidence for a number of years.” The new methane data, collected by NASA senior scientist Michael Mumma and other planetary scientists, found that concentrations of the gas varied greatly by location and season on Mars. The primary plume they found contained about 19,000 metric tons of methane, which is comparable to the methane produced at the large hydrocarbon seep Coal Oil Point in California, where underwater bacteria produce methane by processing hydrocarbons. Further studies during future missions to Mars are needed to determine whether the methane originates from biological or non-biological sources. Although it is possible to produce methane through inorganic processes, those typically do not produce the concentrations of methane observed on Mars. “These methane concentrations are an indicator that there might be life,” said Paul Cloutier, a Rice University astronomer who served as a principal investigator on the Mars Global Surveyor, a spacecraft that orbited, and collected data about Mars from 1997 to 2006. “If methane were absent, you would be able to argue more forcefully there isn’t life on Mars.”
That would be this thread http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=160945 which no one is posting in, yet.
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Back in the 1960s people thought that we would be building cities on Mars by now. Is there life on Mars? Why don't we go there and find out?
Lucky Martians...they have it so much easier. For us to find out that there is life on Mars we need to build space shuttles, train astronauts, etc... ...for them to prove there are humans, they just wait for us to arrive. "Yep, there are those crazy humans from Earth again...everybody hide!"
Isn't there methane all over the place? I mean... it rains methane on the moon, Titan. There are whole seas of the stuff... I guess I'll try to find a more full report. Anyway, we don't have the real discovery until we find the farting microbes themselves. We have the smoke but no gun, I guess. But it's really exciting still.
We are there in the form of multiple probes and satellites. Manned missions are unnecessary, dangerous, and expensive.
There is little doubt at this point that some sort of microbial life exists on Mars and other planets in our solar system. It's just a matter of time, energy, and funding to prove it beyond reasonable doubt -- this of course is the difficult part.
