Valerie Varnuska resides in Westbury, NY, where she pursues her interests in the natural world. In addition to her love of the outdoors and travel, Valerie Varnuska possesses an enthusiasm for stargazing and other aspects of astronomy and space exploration.
NASA’s Curiosity rover, which will soon enter its seventh year of collecting data on Mars, recently detected higher-than-usual methane levels in the planet’s atmosphere. On average, Mars’ atmosphere contains 10 parts per billion units by volume (ppbv). The plume detected by Curiosity contained 21 ppbv. The finding is intriguing to scientists because methane gas sometimes originates from microbial life forms.
However, the rover cannot determine the source of the methane, and scientists have been unable to identify a discernible pattern for the rise and fall of the planet’s methane levels. To gain a better understanding of the source and lifespan of methane in the Martian atmosphere, NASA scientists will compare data from the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter.
NASA’s Curiosity rover, which will soon enter its seventh year of collecting data on Mars, recently detected higher-than-usual methane levels in the planet’s atmosphere. On average, Mars’ atmosphere contains 10 parts per billion units by volume (ppbv). The plume detected by Curiosity contained 21 ppbv. The finding is intriguing to scientists because methane gas sometimes originates from microbial life forms.
However, the rover cannot determine the source of the methane, and scientists have been unable to identify a discernible pattern for the rise and fall of the planet’s methane levels. To gain a better understanding of the source and lifespan of methane in the Martian atmosphere, NASA scientists will compare data from the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter.
