Mars+Microbes

Scientist may have finally discovered life on Mars. In 2003, 19,000 tonnes of methane was shot into Mars' atmosphere from two valleys and a volcano over three months. On earth, 90% of our methane is produced by living organisms but methane can be produced by a common geological process in volcanoes and fissures in the ocean floor. Scientists think say that the methane is coming from a large colony of microbes spanning ** 2,316 sq miles on the permafrost or from a colony of bugs inside aquifers 5 miles under the permafrost. Now scientist are looking for other gasses inside the methane for clues to see if it was created by life.
 * __LIFE DISCOVERED ON MARS?__

The first time methane was detected in Mars' atmosphere, was in 2004 when the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter detected small amounts of methane in the atmosphere. The scientist decided that the amount in the atmosphere was not enough to sustain life but later studies showed that lots of methane could be produced every season but it getting destroyed in the atmosphere.

NASA scientists have found three sites where they think the Methane is being created. One area is a valley rich in clay minerals and used to be covered in water. The other two are in an enormous volcano nearly 500 miles wide. On earth there are two ways of producing methane without living organisms. One is called serpentinisation. Serpentinisation requires heat, water and carbon dioxide but their have to be hot rocks below the surface to do that which means Mars still had to be active. The other way is to for magma under volcanoes to create methane but so far their is no record of active volcanoes on Mars.

By Danny Huston and Derek Chen.