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paper they published today in the journal Science.
The data came from Curiosity's Tunable Laser Spectrometer, which was specially designed to look for methane gas. The instrument has not detected any methane to date. (The team last gave us a similarly sad update on Curiosity's findings in late 2012).
Previous studies of methane on Mars, conducted using data from telescopes based on Earth and in orbit around the red planet, have found more of the gas. Some analyses have found different concentrations of methane at different sites on the planet, or at different times of year. In 2003, one team reported seeing strong plumes of methane at a different location than where Curiosity sampled. That 2003 study has been controversial among astronomers.
There are micro-organisms that don't produce methane, so we're not totally giving up on the possibility of Martians just yet.
Nor does the presence of methane mean there definitely is, or was, something living on a planet. If the Mars air does contain methane, it could come from living organisms, extinct organisms, or geological (not biological) processes within the planet itself. It could have also been carried there from elsewhere in space.
More...
The data came from Curiosity's Tunable Laser Spectrometer, which was specially designed to look for methane gas. The instrument has not detected any methane to date. (The team last gave us a similarly sad update on Curiosity's findings in late 2012).
Previous studies of methane on Mars, conducted using data from telescopes based on Earth and in orbit around the red planet, have found more of the gas. Some analyses have found different concentrations of methane at different sites on the planet, or at different times of year. In 2003, one team reported seeing strong plumes of methane at a different location than where Curiosity sampled. That 2003 study has been controversial among astronomers.
There are micro-organisms that don't produce methane, so we're not totally giving up on the possibility of Martians just yet.
Nor does the presence of methane mean there definitely is, or was, something living on a planet. If the Mars air does contain methane, it could come from living organisms, extinct organisms, or geological (not biological) processes within the planet itself. It could have also been carried there from elsewhere in space.
More...