Methane Plume on Mars

MOLECULECuriosity has discovered ancient organic molecules in Gale Crater using its SAM instrument.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center SEASONALCuriosity has detected seasonal changes in methane at Gale Crater using its SAM instrument.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech THIOPHENESAM detected the organosulfur compound thiophene by analyzing its mass spectrum. MACROMOLECULEThe small hydrocarbons discovered on Mars are thought to be part of larger macromolecules. AIR INTAKESIntake valves on the side of Curiosity allow SAM to ingest Martian air for analysis. TLSCuriosity detected atmospheric methane with SAM's Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS). TOURA panorama around Gale Crater, the Curiosity rover's location on Mars. ROVER ARMCuriosity moves its arm to drill a sample of a Martian rock. GALE CRATERA panorama of Gale Crater, taken by the Curiosity rover on Mars. SAM ACTIONThis animation shows the SAM instrument in action. CRATER DRYPresent-day Gale Crater, with Curiosity's landing site indicated. CRATER WETGale Crater was the site of a lake on ancient Mars. SAM UNCOVEREDThe Sample Analysis at Mars instrument (SAM) was built at Goddard Space Flight Center. SAM INSTALLTechnicians integrate SAM into the Curiosity rover. HOLESSAM detected ancient hydrocarbons in the "Mojave 2" target rock. ROVERSNASA's Mars 2020 rover and ESA's ExoMars rover will usher in a new era of exploration. GLOBEBeauty shot of Mars rotating. URLSlate with NASA's Mars Exploration Program website and social media information. NASA-TV graphics illustrating Curiosity's findings on Mars, broadcast on June 7, 2018 from Goddard Space Flight Center. All clips are formatted in 1280x720 or higher resolution. Learn more about this discovery. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](https://mars.nasa.gov/) Related pages

There are several possible ways that methane can be created, stored, and released on Mars, including both biological and non-biological pathways. Graphic with main title only Graphic without text This illustration portrays possible ways that methane might be added to Mars' atmosphere (sources) and removed from the atmosphere (sinks). NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has detected fluctuations in methane concentration in the atmosphere, implying both types of activity occur in the modern environment of Mars.A molecule of methane consists of one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen. Methane can be generated by microbes and can also be generated by processes that do not require life, such as reactions between water and olivine (or pyroxene) rock. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) can induce reactions that generate methane from other organic chemicals produced by either biological or non-biological processes, such as comet dust falling on Mars. Methane generated underground in the distant or recent past might be stored within lattice-structured methane hydrates called clathrates, and released by the clathrates at a later time, so that methane being released to the atmosphere today might have formed in the past.Winds on Mars can quickly distribute methane coming from any individual source, reducing localized concentration of methane. Methane can be removed from the atmosphere by sunlight-induced reactions (photochemistry). These reactions can oxidize the methane, through intermediary chemicals such as formaldehyde and methanol, into carbon dioxide, the predominant ingredient in Mars' atmosphere.Learn more about the detection of methane on Mars. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-rover-finds-active-ancient-organic-chemistry-on-mars) Related pages