Curiosity confirms the existence of methane in Mars' atmosphere

An article published this week confirms the existence of methane fluctuations in the atmosphere of Mars, as a result of the detailed analysis of data sent during 605 soles or Martian days. The team of researchers that have elaborated this article includes Francisco Javier Martín-Torres, from the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR).

The tunable laser spectrometer in the SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument of the Curiosity robot has unequivocally detected an episodic increase in the concentration of methane in Mars’ atmosphere after an exhaustive analysis of data obtained during 605 soles or Martian days.

This has been revealed in an article authored by scientists from the MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) mission, recently published in Science ("Mars Methane Detection and Variability at Gale Crater"). One of the authors of this article is Francisco Javier Martín-Torres, a researcher at the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR).