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The discovery of methane on Mars has prompted NASA scientists to announce that there may be life on the red planet.
The discovery of methane on Mars has prompted NASA scientists to announce that there may be life on the red planet.
The scientists have dubbed the micro organisms ‘methanogens’ and believe that they are living in water below the ice layer on the planet.
The discovery of a methane gas cloud surrounding the planet has prompted the announcement. Methane is usually the by product of organisms. On Earth, animals like cows, sheep and goats produce methane.
“Methane is quickly destroyed in the Martian atmosphere in a variety of ways, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 indicates some ongoing process is releasing the gas,” Michael Mumma of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement.
Speaking with UK paper The Sun – Mars Expert Professor Colin Pllinger said: “Methane is a product of biology. For methane to be in Mars’ atmosphere, there has to be a replenishable source.
“The most obvious source of methane is organisms, so if you find methane in an atmosphere, you can suspect there is life. It’s not proof, but it makes it worth a much closer look. What could be more profound than to know it’s not just us out there?
“We’ve really only scratched the surface — it’s an absolute certainty that there is life out there and we are not alone. “If there is life on Mars then the logical conclusion is that there must be life elsewhere too.”
Source; news.com.au
