MessageToEagle.com - There has been much speculation about methane's source on Mars, since scientists for the first time
identified it in the planet's atmosphere in 2003.
Intense UV radiation on the red planet releases methane from organic materials which
meteorites transport onto its surface.
It was a sensation when scientists discovered methane in Mars’ atmosphere nine years ago. Many saw the presence of
the gas as a clear indication of life on the inhospitable planet, as on Earth methane is produced predominantly by
biological processes. Others assumed geological processes, such as volcanoes, to be the cause.
What has been missing until now is proof of where the methane actually comes from, however.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and the universities in Utrecht and Edinburgh have
now been able to show that methane escapes from a meteorite if it is irradiated with ultraviolet light under
Martian conditions.
Since meteorites and interplanetary dust from space, which carry along carbonaceous compounds,
continuously impact on the Martian surface, the researchers conclude that high-energy UV radiation triggers the
release of methane from the meteorites.
The best-known hypothesis states that microorganisms produce the methane, and is thus an indication of life on
the red planet. Another hypothesis assumes the source to be geological methane sources in Mars’ interior.
To date, none of the theories has been able to conclusively explain the large quantity of 200 to 300 tonnes of
methane annually which are produced on Mars, according to projections.
Without an expedition to Mars and with nothing more than a meteorite to help them, researchers at the Max Planck
Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and the universities in Utrecht and Edinburgh have now found a major source.
Methane concentration on Mars: This chart depicts the calculated methane concentrations in parts per billion
(ppb) on Mars during summer in the Northern hemisphere. Violet and blue are indications for little quantities of
methane, red areas for larger ones. Photo Credfits: NASA
“Methane is produced from innumerable, small micro-meteorites and interplanetary dust particles that land on the
Martian surface from space,” explains Frank Keppler, lead author of the study now published in the research
journal Nature. “The energy is provided by the extremely intense ultraviolet radiation,” adds the atmospheric chemist.
Unlike Earth, Mars has no protective ozone layer which could absorb most of the UV radiation from space. Moreover,
the Martian atmosphere is very thin, so that a significantly smaller portion of the meteoritic material burns up in
the atmosphere compared to Earth.
Scientists don't yet know enough to say with certainty what the source of the Martian methane is, but this
artist's concept depicts a possibility. In this illustration, subsurface water, carbon dioxide and the planet's
internal heat combine to release methane. Although we don’t have evidence on Mars of active volcanoes today,
ancient methane trapped in ice "cages" might now be released. Credit: NASA/Susan Twardy
Together with colleagues from Great Britain and the Netherlands, the researchers from Mainz irradiated samples of
the Murchison meteorite with ultraviolet light. “The meteorite contains several percent carbon and has a similar
chemical composition to most of the meteoritic matter that lands on Mars,” says the cosmochemist Ulrich Ott.
The 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite fell to Earth in 1969 in the Australian town of Murchison. The researchers selected
conditions identical to those on Mars for the UV irradiation, which caused considerable quantities of methane to
escape from the meteorite almost immediately. Their conclusion: carbonaceous compounds in the meteoritic matter are
decomposed by the high-energy UV radiation, and methane molecules are formed in the process.
Since the temperature on the red planet varies from minus 143 degrees Celsius at the poles to plus 17 degrees
Celsius at Mars’ equator, the scientists also investigated the meteoritic samples at appropriate temperatures.
The warmer it became, the more methane was released by the meteoritic fragments. This temperature dependence also
agrees with the different methane concentrations at different locations in the Martian atmosphere.
In infrared spectra, the largest concentration of methane was found in the equatorial region, the warmest place
on Mars, relatively speaking.
The results obtained by Frank Keppler’s team should bring “down to earth” all those who firmly believe in the
biological origin of the methane. The researchers cannot fully exclude the hypothesis of Martian microbes,
however, because, although the process found here is inevitable, it is quite possible that further processes
contribute to methane production.
The researchers hope that Curiosity, the Mars Rover that NASA expects to land on
our neighbouring planet at the beginning of August, will provide more details on the formation of methane, and
maybe even final clarification as to whether there is life on Mars.
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The temperature on the surface of 55 Cancri e is estimated to be as high as 2,700 degrees Celsius.
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