Update on Mars' atmosphere, Media briefing on NASA Jan 15th Options

[ilbasso]

The Sun is claiming that NASA will announce that the methane is from microbial life.

[Stu]

The Sun is claiming that NASA will announce that the methane is from microbial life.

It MUST be true then. I have every faith in a paper that claims a low-flying UFO recently snapped a blade off a wind turbine, and that the lovely "Debbie, from Hull" is still 20 after having been on page 3 for at least 5 years...

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

The story is starting to appear on quite a few news sources now.

[djellison]

Of course, until the news conference, there isn't actually a story.

[Pertinax]

But, but... what about the story about the story that might me? That's a story too isn't it?


-- Pertinax

[Guest_Oersted_*]

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE, RUN, RUN!!!!

Eh, ok, I'll wait for the press conference...

I believe methane was also discovered by Mars Express back in 2004.

[OWW]

Forgive me, but I don't understand why methane = life.
Titan and the gas-giants' atmospheres also contain methane and nobody claims that there are little green bugs on those planets.

[ugordan]

Forgive me, but I don't understand why methane = life.

Clinging for straws, IMHO.

[djellison]

I believe methane was also discovered by Mars Express back in 2004.

It was. There have also been hints of it from ground based obs, and orbit obs. What I'm expecting ( although this is a guess ) is a map of its distribution across Mars- all be it at very very very low res. It should give us a hint of where it might be coming from.

Doug

[Juramike]

It should give us a hint of where it might be coming from.

Or at least about the dynamics of the upper atmosphere and where it concentrates for detection.
[I'm guessing this has less public appeal.]

[SirBruce]

According to news reports, the latest science have correlated the methane detections with water vapor clouds, strongly suggesting a biological linkage instead of, say, a volcanic origin.

I understand this, but I do have a question for you scientists out there. Wouldn't any volcanic subsurface heating that released methane up through the soil also cause melting of any subsurface ice, thus resulting in the release of both methane and water vapor at the surface? While I'm all for believing there is microbial life on Mars, I'm not sure why this isn't a possible explanation, and thus why a correlation doesn't necessarily point to biological over volcanic processes. Perhaps there are other geophysical reasons to exclude this, but I would appreciate any thoughts along those lines. (And if any of you have access to the scientists at or after the press conference, please pass this question along to them!)

[centsworth_II]

I continue to be disappointed in the failure to include the possibility of photochemical generation of methane in the discussion whenever biological and geological sources are considered.

If methane is found in association with water clouds, is it to be implied that organisms generating the methane are present in the clouds? Is it not even more likely that the water in the clouds is used in a photochemical reaction creating the methane? I'd like to see the possibility at least addressed.

[Juramike]

Wouldn't any volcanic subsurface heating that released methane up through the soil also cause melting of any subsurface ice, thus resulting in the release of both methane and water vapor at the surface?

That makes sense to me.

[Juramike]

As written on Fox News:

"(American media outlets are not yet reporting the story because they're honoring an "embargo," a promise to not run a story until a designated time, in this case 2 p.m. EST, when NASA is expected to hold a press conference. The Sun "broke" the embargo, prompting other British papers to follow suit.)"

So that's the story behind some of the story...

[djellison]

The story here, is that Astrobiology is off topic for UMSF. Rule 1.2. This is the first, last and only warning. In the post press-conf rush, I will not hesitate in hitting the delete button or issue suspensions.