Table of Contents
METHANE MYSTERY ON MARS
- Mars Orbiter Mission
- Exploration of Mars surface features by studying the morphology, topography and mineralogy
- Study the constituents of Martian atmosphere including methane and CO2 using remote sensing techniques
- Study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere of Mars, effects of solar wind and radiation and the escape of volatiles to outer space
CURIOSITY (ROVER)
CURIOSITY (ROVER)
- The three main instruments are a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), a gas chromatograph (GC) and a tunable laser spectrometer (TLS).
- These instruments perform precision measurements of oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere of Mars in order to distinguish between their geochemical or biological origin.
WHAT RECENTLY HAPPENED?
- The United States space agency, NASA, says its Mars exploration vehicle recently recorded a high level of methane gas on the planet. The discovery is exciting because the presence of methane gas could support the case for life on Mars.
- NASA’s Curiosity vehicle recently recorded the largest level of methane ever measured during its seven-year Mars mission.
WHY MARS LIFE HUNT TARGETS METHANE
- The search for Red Planet life has long been intertwined with the search for methane, which is why so many scientists and laypeople alike were probably disappointed by the initial atmospheric readings from Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, or SAM.
- “Everybody is excited about the possibility about methane from Mars, because life as we know it produces methane,”
A POSSIBLE BIOSIGNATURE
- Two ways methane is produced
- Geological routes – Biological routes
BIOLOGICAL ROUTES
- Methane is natural — it’s released by decaying vegetation and by the bacteria in wetlands and swamps. But most sources of methane are of human origin — livestock and farming, decay in landfills, leakage from the oil and gas industry.
NOTES
- Further, scientists think the gas disappears rapidly from the Martian atmosphere, meaning any methane swirling there today was likely produced in the recent past.
- But detecting lots of methane on Mars would not be convincing evidence of life by any stretch. The gas can also be produced by abiotic processes, such as the degradation of interplanetary dust particles by ultraviolet light and interactions between water and rocks. Comet strikes may also deliver methane to Mars
HOW TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY
- More nations need to send probes to Mars
- India’s contribution – Mars Orbiter Mission 2
- India’s second interplanetary mission planned for launch to Mars by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the 2022-2023 time frame
- The orbiter will use aerobraking to lower its initial apoapsis and enter into an orbit more suitable for observations.
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