Looking for Life in Mars Methane

An astronomy graduate student at New Mexico State University spoke about her research studying the possible detection of methane gas on Mars at a presentation during the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Reno, Nev.

Malynda Chizek is working on computer simulations using the NASA/Ames Mars Atmospheric General Circulation Model to replicate trace gases in the Martian atmosphere. She is using these simulations to predict the amount of methane that might be seen by the Mars Science Laboratory.

"There is an instrument onboard the Curiosity Rover -- which landed on Mars in August -- capable of measuring methane, but the scientists operating that instrument haven't made any public announcements of their results yet," said Chizek. "There have been several claims of methane detection in the past decade, but it is controversial whether or not there is really methane on Mars, because we do not understand how it would get there, and scientists' observations suggest that it's varying in abundance on a very quick time scale, which is unexpected."