Methane discovery suggests presence of life on Mars, say Nasa scientists [View All]

[Ichingcarpenter]

Source: news Australia

NASA scientists are expected to announce they may have proof there is life on Mars.

The scientists suspect alien microbes are alive and kicking just below the soil of the big planet, after large quantities of what is believed to be the organisms’ waste products were detected.

The organisms – called methanogens – are suspected to have been living in water beneath underground ice, where they are disgorging tonnes and tonnes of methane.
Although there is a consensus among some scientists that methane is also produced by volcanic processes, the lack of any active volcanoes on Mars rules this possibility out.

Methane plumes are very short-lived, it is chemically broken down by sunlight within a year. Something is replacing the methane, and quickly.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24917099-401,00.html

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Nasa will announce the full results of the study at a briefing in Washington today.


WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a science update at 2 p.m. EST, Thursday, Jan. 15, to discuss analysis of the Martian atmosphere that raises the possibility of life or geologic activity. The briefing will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St., S.W., Washington, and carried live on NASA Television.

The briefing participants are:

- Michael Meyer, Mars program lead scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington

- Michael Mumma, senior planetary scientist and director, Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

- Geronimo Villanueva, planetary scientist and astrobiologist, Goddard Space Flight Center

- Sushil Atreya, professor of atmospheric and space science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

- Lisa Pratt, professor of geological sciences, Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana



http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html