Scientists find likely source of methane on Mars

Because methane gas dissipates relatively quickly—within around 12 years on Earth—and due to the difficulty of observing Mars’ atmosphere, many scientists questioned previous studies that relied on a single data set. Furthermore, they conducted two parallel experiments to determine the most likely source of methane on Mars to be an ice sheet east of Gale Crater—itself long assumed to be a dried up lake. Giuranna said that while methane is a sign of life on Earth, its presence on Mars doesn’t necessarily constitute evidence of something similar on the Red Planet.

Source: phys.org