Curiosity sniffed and discovered methane on Mars again

NASA: The rover Curiosity discovered an incomprehensible short-term tenfold increase in the amount of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. The rover has long been sniffing the atmosphere, measuring the amount of methane - a gas that can be produced, including local forms of life. This is the third time in the last twenty months, when such bursts are observed.

On Earth, a lot of methane is produced in the life cycle of microorganisms. Although scientists warn that there are other explanations for such bursts - both chemical reactions of substances on the surface of the planet with ultraviolet radiation, or the release of methane from under the ice, and the bombardment of meteorites. Be that as it may, methane disappeared from the atmosphere surrounding the rover as suddenly as it appeared. What was the reason for this - another mystery that scientists have to solve.

In addition, in the stone extracted from the well Cumberland (something like "Earth of difficulties"), it was possible to detect organic compounds - this is the first unequivocal confirmation of the presence of organic matter on Mars. She could either form on the planet, or get there with meteorites.
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"This is the first confirmation of the presence of organic carbon in stone on Mars - a promising discovery," said Roger Sammons, a scientist from the Curiosity team at MIT. Organic molecules are so important because they can tell us about the ways in which they formed and how they were saved. And this, in turn, will show us the differences between Earth and Mars, and whether the specific environment in the Gale crater was favorable for the accumulation of organic material. The challenge now is to find other stones on Sharpe Mountain, which may contain other, possibly richer, sets of organic compounds. ”