Scientists identify 'methane' in Martian meteorites

In the search of life on the red planet, researchers have now discovered traces of methane in the Martian meteorites.

In the research initiated by Yale University, the researchers examined samples from six meteorites of volcanic rock that originated on Mars. The meteorites contain gases in the same proportion and with the same isotopic composition as the Martian atmosphere.

All the samples also contained methane, which was measured by crushing the rocks and running the emerging gas through a mass spectrometer.

The discovery hints at the possibility that methane could be used as a food source by rudimentary forms of life beneath the planet's surface.

Co-author Sean McMahon said that their findings would likely be used by astro-biologists in models and experiments aimed at understanding whether life could survive below the surface of Mars today.

Professor John Parnell said that the suggestion of methane in the Martian atmosphere has been one of the most exciting developments in the exploration.

He added that forthcoming missions by NASA and the European Space Agency are looking at this; however, it has been so far unclear where the methane comes from and even whether it is really there but their research provided a strong indication that rocks on Mars contain a large reservoir of it.

The research is published in Journal Nature Communications.