Methane in Mars meteorites suggests possibility of life

Methane, a potential sign of primitive life, has been found in meteorites from Mars, adding weight to the idea that life could live off methane on the Red Planet, researchers say. This discovery is not evidence that life exists, or has ever existed, on Mars, the researchers cautioned. Still, methane “is an ingredient that could potentially support microbial activity in the Red Planet,” study lead author Nigel Blamey, a geochemist at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, told Space.com. Much of the methane in Earth’s atmosphere is produced by life, such as cattle digesting food. However, there are ways to produce methane without life, such as volcanic activity.

We have not found life, but we have found methane that could potentially support microbes in the subsurface.

Nigel Blamey, a geochemist at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

To shed light on the nature of the methane on Mars, Blamey and his colleagues analyzed rocks blasted off Mars by cosmic impacts that subsequently crash-landed on Earth as meteorites. The scientists focused on six meteorites from Mars that serve as examples of volcanic rocks there, collecting samples of about one-quarter of a gram from each. All the samples were taken from the interiors of the meteorites, to avoid terrestrial contamination. The researchers found that all six released methane and other gases when crushed, probably from small pockets inside. Chemical reactions between volcanic rocks on Mars and the Martian environment could release methane. Blamey now hopes to analyze more Martian meteorites.

Science Mars methane