MOSCOW, December 17 – RIA Novosti. The amount of methane on Mars in the past few years has increased significantly, which may indicate activation on the Red Planet tectonic and geological processes, RIA Novosti said a senior fellow at the Institute of Space Research (IKI) Alexander Rodin, commenting on recent data from the American rover Curiosity.
© NASA / JPL-Caltech / SAM-GSFC / Univ. of Michigan
“This is a very important result. The presence of methane on Mars as early as 2004, that is, ten years ago, with the help of ground-based methods of analysis predicted the Russian scientist Vladimir Krasnopolskiy . However, his follow-up study in 2010 confirmed the presence of methane is not, and in 2013 the American Curiosity project team also failed to reasonably ascertain the presence of methane on Mars. Therefore, the sensationalism of this result is that the new data from the rover, the amount of methane on the planet increased dramatically, by about an order of magnitude, “- stated the scientist.
According to him, the results of recent studies Curiosity suggest that the atmosphere of Mars is changing, and quite quickly, which may indicate the place where tectonic and geological processes.
“Nor, despite all the fantastic, reject the hypothesis that the Red Planet was an increase in microbial activity. If it is able to prove that, undoubtedly, is a fundamental discovery, “- said Rodin.
In addition, he said, an important discovery should be considered detection of carbon in the soil of Mars. “The presence of the substance in the atmosphere is confirmed by a long time. But the presence of carbon in the soil can be an indirect confirmation of the fact that there are organic compounds,” – said the scientist.
The rover Curiosity: Mission and equipment & gt; & gt ;
© Photo: Public domain
Rodin said that the launch in 2018 of “Exo-Mars” will allow European and Russian scientists to move more further study of the Red Planet. “The sensitivity of the instrument on the lander Exo-Mars” will be several tens of times higher than in the US rovers, so we can develop the resulting command Curiosity result “, – concluded Rodin.
According to the website NASA, Mars rover Curiosity found on the surface red planet organic compounds and methane.
As stated Sushil Athreya (Sushil Atreya), co-director of the group working with the instrument SAM (Sample Analysis on Mars) on board the rover, rover found a temporary surge of methane may indicate a localized source gas biological or non-biological origin on the surface of the planet.
In addition, Curiosity found in samples of species of stone, known as “Cumberland”, molecules that contain carbon and hydrogen, which may indicate the presence of life on Mars before. However, Scientists trying to find out whether any data samples on Mars, or were brought to the planet from meteorites.
“This is the first proof of organic carbon in the rocks on Mars is very promising,” – said the scientist Roger Sammons involved in the project Curiosity.
Last week, NASA reported that Curiosity has found traces of the existence of ancient lakes on the surface of the red planet. According to scientists, the assembled apparatus for the past two years, data on the composition of the soil in the crater Gale indicate that the surface of Mars could exist lake.
Two years ago NASA Curiosity rover landed near the Martian crater Gale, which are well looked deep layers of Martian soil, revealing the geological history of the planet. The main objectives of the mission Curiosity on Mars is to carry out detailed geological and geochemical studies, the study of the atmosphere and climate of the planet, the search for water or traces of her presence, of organic substances. These data will help determine whether Mars was once suitable for life and is there a place suitable for life now.
© AP Photo / NASA
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