What are the recent conclusions about methane content in Mars surface?
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Answer:
For a few weeks in late 2013 and early 2014, Curiosity noticed that atmospheric methane —a gas that could possibly be an indication of microbial activity—surged from an average background level of about 0.7 parts per billion all the way up to 7 parts per billion.
That increase occurred during the rover's first Martian autumn. But the methane spike did not recur in the second Red Planet autumn. It was an episodic release, still unexplained. However, the rover's measurements do suggest that much subtler changes in the background methane concentration—amounts much less than during the spike—may follow a seasonal pattern.
This broader background pattern, if it is confirmed, could be related to seasonal changes in pressure or ultraviolet radiation. Methane can be produced by geological as well as biological processes, so its presence is not solid evidence of Martian life. The launch of The European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft on Monday 14 March 2016 is a significant moment in space exploration. It marks a new beginning in the search for life on Mars.
The Trace Gas orbiter combines elements of ESA’s earlier proposed ExoMars orbiter and NASA’s proposed Mars Science Orbiter. The instruments aboard it are highly sensitive in order to be capable of detecting the identity and extremely low concentration of atmospheric trace gases, characterizing the spatial and temporal variation of methane and other important species, locating the source origin of the trace gases and determining if they are caused by biologic or geologic processes. Current photochemical models cannot explain the presence of methane in the martain atmosphere nor its rapid appearance and destruction in space, time or quantity.It will look for the gas with unprecedented sensitivity and map its distribution across the planet over a number of years. If anywhere is particularly rich in methane production, that will be a natural target for further investigations.
On which note, Esa is also sending the ExoMars rover to Mars’s surface in 2018. It will be equipped with instruments capable of detecting the signs of past and present microbial life.
The long search for life on Mars continues... Hope we are alive to see what happens.