[meteorite-list] Scientists Finds Methane in Mars Meteorites

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2015 16:29:12 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201506182329.t5INTC88029937_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://news.yale.edu/2015/06/16/scientists-find-methane-mars-meteorites

Scientists find methane in Mars meteorites
By Jim Shelton
Yale University
June 16, 2015

An international team of researchers has discovered traces of methane
in Martian meteorites, a possible clue in the search for life on the Red
Planet.

The researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock
that originated on Mars. The meteorites contain gases in the same proportion
and with the same isotopic composition as the Martian atmosphere. All
six samples also contained methane, which was measured by crushing the
rocks and running the emerging gas through a mass spectrometer. The team
also examined two non-Martian meteorites, which contained lesser amounts
of methane.

The discovery hints at the possibility that methane could be used as a
food source by rudimentary forms of life beneath the Martian surface.
On Earth, microbes do this in a range of environments.

"Other researchers will be keen to replicate these findings using alternative
measurement tools and techniques," said co-author Sean McMahon, a Yale
University postdoctoral associate in the Department of Geology and Geophysics.
"Our findings will likely be used by astrobiologists in models and experiments
aimed at understanding whether life could survive below the surface of
Mars today."

The discovery was part of a joint research project led by the University
of Aberdeen, in collaboration with the Scottish Universities Environmental
Research Centre, the University of Glasgow, Brock University in Ontario,
and the University of Western Ontario.

"One of the most exciting developments in the exploration of Mars has
been the suggestion of methane in the Martian atmosphere," said University
of Aberdeen professor John Parnell, who directed the research. "Recent
and forthcoming missions by NASA and the European Space Agency, respectively,
are looking at this, however, it is so far unclear where the methane comes
from, and even whether it is really there. However, our research provides
a strong indication that rocks on Mars contain a large reservoir of methane."

Co-author Nigel Blamey, of Brock University, said the team plans to expand
its research by analyzing additional meteorites.

Yale's McMahon noted that the team's approach may prove helpful in future
Mars rover experiments. "Even if Martian methane does not directly feed
microbes, it may signal the presence of a warm, wet, chemically reactive
environment where life could thrive," McMahon said.
Received on Thu 18 Jun 2015 07:29:12 PM PDT