A few years ago, several scientific teams detected variable levels of methane in the atmosphere of the planet Mars. This gas, although present in small quantities, has kept researchers on alert ever since. And it is that Its presence may be indicative of very special geological, and also biological, processes.
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Methane from Mars keeps scientists really busy with all kinds of testing and modeling from Earth. And it is that They are trying to explain why this gas behaves in such a strange wayand also why it is only detected in Gale Crater.
NASA’s explanation for Mars methane
Recently, A NASA research team has presented an interesting hypothesis. In a recent article, published in March 2024 in the prestigious Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Scientists raised the possibility that methane, regardless of its origin, may be encapsulated under a layer of solid salt. This could form in Martian regolith, a type of soil made up of rock fragments and dust.
During warmer seasons, or at times of day with high temperatures, This covering could weaken, allowing methane to seep to the surface.. Under the guidance of Alexander Pavlov, a planetary expert at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Scientists raise the possibility that the gas could be released in bursts when the layers break under the pressure exerted, for example, by a vehicle similar in size to a small SUV, such as the Curiosity rover.
In 2019, Curiosity discovered an unexplained spike in methane that led scientists to conduct experiments in the laboratory.
According to Pavlov, This theory could shed light on why methane is only detected in Gale crater, since it is one of the two sites on Mars where there is a robot that explores and drills the surface. The other is Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover currently operates, although this rover lacks a device to detect methane.
Origin of the NASA hypothesis
Pavlov attributes the origin of this hypothesis to an independent experiment he conducted in 2017.. This experiment included the cultivation of microorganisms in a simulated frozen Mars soil, impregnated with salt, similar to much of the Martian permafrost. Pavlov and his collaborators investigated whether certain bacteriaknown as halophiles and which thrive in saline environments such as saltwater lakes, They could survive in similar conditions on Mars.
Although the microbial growth results did not yield definitive conclusions, according to Pavlov, the researchers observed an unexpected phenomenon: a salt crust formed in the surface layer of the soil at As the saline ice sublimated, going directly from solid to gas and leaving the salt behind.
This theory will redouble the efforts being made to explore Mars. Future missionssuch as NASA’s Mars Sample Return rover and other international missions already planned, They could provide momentous information about the origin and composition of Martian methane. In addition, the ExoMars mission of ESA, the European Space Agency, is scheduled to further investigate the possible existence of past or present life on the red planet.
News reference:
Pavlov, A.A., Johnson, J., Garcia-Sanchez, R., Siglelnitzky, A., Johnson, C., Davis, J., et al. (2024). Formation and stability of salty soil seals in Mars-like conditions. Implications for methane variability on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129, e2023JE007841. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE007841
