Live Blogging the Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens at Last? | the Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

2:05 Mumma points out that this methane comes and goes. So, it’s coming from somewhere and being removed and being replaced. Also, this is the first definitive identification of methane on Mars.

2:06 Mumma’s choices: volcanoes or bugs.

2:07 Now Geronimo Villaneuva from Catholic University is explaining how they found where the stuff is coming from. These places have a “rich history.” Water flowed there before. So maybe water is underground there now (supporting life)?

2:09 Measuring isotopes in the future could help determine wha’s making this stuff.

2:10 A scientist named Sushil Atreya from the University of Michigan who wasn’t involved in the research is commenting. Offering up possibilities–geology, ie water and rock; or biology. Could be stored in the past and being released now.

2:12 Atreya is talking about how Mars may be getting rid of methane. Light can knock it out over centuries. Or maybe oxidants in the atmosphere.

2:14 Lisa Pratt of Indiana University is talking biology. She is stoked.

2:15 Okay, I mean as stoked as scientists get at press conferences where they talk about photic zones. You can see it in the rise of her eyebrows.

2:15 Subpermafrost brines on Earth are a good model. Or radioactive minerals splitting water to hydrogen, reacts it with carbon dioxide to make methane deep underground.

2:16 Pratt wants to look for life on Mars that’s exhaling methane. I think she just called it prudent to look for it. What a fascinating word to choose…

2:17 Reporters are now asking questions.

2:18 Mumma points out that if volcanoes were making the methane, you’d expect other gases too, which they don’t see. NASA will look for other things that would be consistent with biology.

2:21 Mumma is explaining some of the backstory–first reports of observations were in 2003. We knew we had methane since late 2003, he says. But they’ve been working to make the data “unassailable.” We’ll see…

2:22 Mike Meyer of NASA: Mars Science Laboratory, a planned probe to the surface of Mars could do a better job of measuring the methane–including the balance of isotopes. (Methane from life has a slightly different balance than methane from volcanoes.)

2:24 Seth Borenstein from AP is asking about picking where to drop MSL. Four sites have already been named finalists, but Meyer is saying that they’ve “reset the clock” on the selection process.

2:25 A question on digging: Lisa Pratt says we’d have to go down to where water stays melted. A shallow drill won’t cut it. A “very thin nearly invisible film” of bacteria may be spread over fractured rocks.

2:27 Mumma seems to be suggesting a deep drill isn’t the only possibility. Maybe just peek under permafrost.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 3 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

2:27 Pratt is talking about how much water you have to filter to find microbes from the deep Earth. So this won’t be a cake-walk on Mars.

2:28 A question about methane from comets. Atreya says that the comet would have to be several kilometers across and hit in the past few centuries. “We would have known it.” We don’t. So probably comets can be ruled out.

2:31 Mumma: what is the right strategy to exploit this discovery? We need to measure Mars surface all the time to find all the active vents, figure out what’s coming out of them, find the most likely to be biological, and decide where we really want to go.

2:33 [Let’s just note that this announcement comes from NASA right before a new administration comes in, at a time when spending priorities are in serious flux. Just sayin’.]

2:35 Back to the science: Lisa Pratt says methane from rock (serpentinization) is rare on Earth and actually plugs up active sites. This is why she takes biology seriously as “slightly more plausible.”

2:39 If life is deep underground, the water released with the methane may be very old. Age of water can also be estimated from isotopes.

2:41 Pratt says we need to find a haze of biomarkers in the atmosphere or drill. [She has done an admirable job of resisting the urge to say Drill, baby, drill. ; ) ]

2:42 Ken Chang at the Times has an article up–no comments from outside researchers.

2:45 Mumma: How to study an active Mars? [It’s not a dead museum now.]

2:47 These guys are talking to each other now, not to the reporters. Hey–maybe we missed some other evidence from our orbiters–maybe we could do certain tests on minerals, etc….

2:48 In the comments, Joe asked if they found helium. Nothing in the paper or the press conference so far.

2:49 Atreya says, “Just remember, we’re talking about life as we know it.” A shout-out for weird life– excellent!

2:51 Jason asks in the comments if it’s enough methane for astronauts to use for energy. No.

2:53 I mean, no, not the plume they found. Mumma is making the point that we don’t know how much methane Mars is belching. (Do microbes belch? Is this Martian flatus?)

2:54 If we don’t know if the production is geo or bio, we know it’s easier to live by consuming methane. “It gives us a bull’s eye to look for.” Sulfate reduction coupled to methane consumption looks very attractive now–also happens to be one of the oldest ways of making a living on Earth.

2:56 Ken Chang gets the last question: is this a seasonal release? Mumma: We aren’t at liberty to discuss the release in other seasons. [In case you wondered why press embargoes are a bad idea.]

—Well, they’re done. I’m reminded of the press conference long ago when NASA scientists announced that they might have found Martian fossils in meteorites that landed on Earth. Didn’t pan out so well. This time around, the scientists were pretty open about the two different options. And lucky for them, if this is http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 4 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

evidence of life, it’s life that’s alive right now, not fossilized for billions of years. It will be easier to find because there’s more of it and it’s letting us know it’s there. Of course, if part of your research programm is getting a two-mile drill to Mars, “easier” is a most relative term.

January 15th, 2009 3:00 PM by Carl Zimmer in Life Elsewhere | 44 comments | RSS feed | Trackback >

44 Responses to “Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last?”

1. Joe Richer Says: January 15th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

Cornell astrophysics Prof. Tommy Gold predicted Martian methane 20 years ago in his abiogenic oil theory, detailed in “Deep Hot Biosphere” (1999). He predicted hydrocarbons (oil and gas) on both Earth and Mars not associated with biological processes. This is different from the volcanic theories and would not require associated sulfur compounds. Perhaps Gold’s theory (widely scoffed at) needs to be reexamined.

2. Faith Says: January 15th, 2009 at 3:27 pm

Wow! Thanks for the live blogging — and wow!

3. Joe Richer Says: January 15th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

I wonder if they found Helium associated with the methane?

4. Jason Heldenbrand Says: January 15th, 2009 at 3:45 pm

How much methane are we talking about? Very slight or sizeable enough for actual use? For instance, for manned missions, could it be a possible source of long term alternative fuels for equipment/habitation?

5. Patrick Says: January 15th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

NY Times is pointing a second mystery. How the methane was destroyed so quickly. Did that come up in the press conference?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/science/space/16mars.html

Carl: Only briefly and indirectly. It might get pulled out by ordinary atmospheric chemistry– oxidation. Or maybe microbes are feeding on it.

6. Jessica Says: January 15th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

In the U.S., cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of methane per year, the US dairy cow population is 9 million, so 19,000 million metric tons would mean there is 31,000 cows on Mars.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 5 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

7. jlbriem Says: January 15th, 2009 at 5:04 pm

Pay attention to the new theories! Yucatan asteroid kills dinosaurs! oops! No dino’s fossils found in area. search (Vredefort, or Manicougen) Much bigger than Chicxulub impact. Deccan Traps volcanism kills dinosaurs! oops! Siberian traps volcanism much bigger than Indian flows or many others!. Life survives global volcanic catastrophe because microbes on earth were way underground! New theory, no oops yet! Nothing found on Mars! Must be water! oops! Must be underground microbes! New Mars theory right on the heels of Earth volcanism-extinction theory, how convenient! No oops yet! Must be proof of life on Mars then! Great theory, untestable, but worth billions in new hardware. Let’s drill down 5- 15 miles on Mars for evidence of microbes! Gamma ray destruction of everything becoming new popular theory, no oops yet! How many asteroids, mega volcanos, and gamma ray bursts have destroyed all life on this little rock? Does life happen so easily that all of it can be destroyed over and over and it just springs back again and again. New theories are a dime a dozen, and if somebody tries to sell you a diamond ring for two nickels, it is probably not worth a dime!!!

8. Joshua Zelinsky Says: January 15th, 2009 at 5:10 pm

Ok, this makes it all the more important that the Russian LIFE (http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/life/ ) be halted. This makes the contamination risk much more severe.

9. gamelog » Life on mars? Says: January 15th, 2009 at 5:13 pm

[…] Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/marsmethane.html http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/science/space/23mars.html?_r=1 […]

10. Life on Mars? « The Liquid Thinker Says: January 15th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

[…] on Mars? By liquidthinker More fun news! Check out The Loom. The researchers today today are reporting that in 2003 and 2006, they recorded plumes of methane […]

11. dreikin Says: January 15th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Any chance this could be contamination? (are the sites emitting methane reasonably near - topologically or geographically - landing sites? Some bacterial spores can last through ANYTHING (almost).

12. justin fitzsimons Says: January 15th, 2009 at 6:51 pm

I think you want 2009 in the citation, not 2008.

but none the less, this is awesome.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 6 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

13. Life on mars found? - iVoter Says: January 15th, 2009 at 6:55 pm

[…] admin on Jan.15, 2009, under astronomy Have a look here at news from NASA scientists. Where is this methane gas coming from? Time will tell, but definitely […]

14. Life on mars? - South African Gaming Network Says: January 15th, 2009 at 7:02 pm

[…] here where NASA scientists discuss the plausibility of life giving rise to tons of methane gas! Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine ______I believe in life before […]

15. Russell Seitz Says: January 15th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

The Martian methane signature has even led to reports of intelligent life on the Op-Ed page of The Wall Street Journal:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110006404

16. Tom Says: January 15th, 2009 at 7:48 pm

Apparently, NASA have said that “the chances of anything coming from Mars, are a million to one” (they said).

Don’t panic!

17. Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | MamentoMori Says: January 15th, 2009 at 7:51 pm

[…] Frankly, if I were Michael Mumma, I’d be going nuts right now. The … Go to Source […]

18. Evolution Disclaimer - Page 8 - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums Says: January 15th, 2009 at 8:00 pm

[…] about it in the bible or quran. Maybe the scientologists had something about it? Eh, who cares. Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine ______////////////////// Fitch "Cute but the apostles lived […]

19. Patrick Says: January 15th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

Sure they could last, but enough of them getting there and surviving to unload that much methane? That seems pretty implausible.

20. Conspirama Says: January 15th, 2009 at 9:52 pm

Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom …

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 7 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/marsmethane.html http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/science/space/23mars.html?_r=1 […] Life on Mars? « The Liquid Thinker Says: …

21. Intelligent Designer Says: January 15th, 2009 at 10:24 pm

It was a science fiction fantasy come true: Ten years ago this summer, NASA announced the discovery of life on Mars. At a news conference in Washington, scientists showed magnified pictures of a four-pound Martian meteorite riddled with wormy blobs that looked like bacterial colonies. The researchers explained how they had pried numerous clues from the rock, all strongly supporting their contention that microscopic creatures once occupied its nooks and crannies. It was arguably the space agency’s most imagination-gripping moment since Apollo. Space buffs and NASA officials said that it just might be the scientific discovery of the century. “If the results are verified,” the late Carl Sagan pronounced, “it is a turning point in human history.” Ten years later, the results have not been verified. Skeptics have found nonbiological explanations for every piece of evidence that was presented on Aug. 6, 1996. And though they they still vigorously defend their contention, the NASA scientists who advanced it now stand alone in their belief.

How many times have we been down this “there may be life on Mars” path already? NASA is just fishing for tax dollars.

22. Kaleberg Says: January 15th, 2009 at 10:46 pm

Russell Seitz Says: “The Martian methane signature has even led to reports of intelligent life on the Op-Ed page of The Wall Street Journal”

That’s hard to believe. While there may be intelligent life on Mars, there is no intelligent life on the Wall Street Jouranl Op-Ed page.

(I couldn’t resist.)

23. Kaleberg Says: January 15th, 2009 at 10:47 pm

No intelligent life here either. That should be Journal, not Jouranl.

24. viggen Says: January 16th, 2009 at 12:04 am

Not so certain how surprising it should be if life is found on Mars. It would be impressive to be sure, but Earth and Mars have been roommates for multiple billion years, meteorites originating from Mars have been found on Earth and experiments have been performed that show some microbes can survive space. It is not inconceivable, given the nearly uncountable chances for such a thing to happen, that life from Earth could have been seeded to Mars by meteorite a long long time ago. Not sure life found there could ever be considered anything but our own planet’s contamination of its

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 8 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

surroundings. Still, it would substantially raise the chances of finding life much farther away. If such a life form is related to life found here, it would be interesting to see just how much it has diverged since the transference and it would give perhaps a nice flash-back to our own primordial biochemistry.

If life from Earth has been seeded to Mars, I wonder if life from Mars holds some obscure extremophile niche here already. The prodigal son returning home, so to speak.*Laughs* who can say just yet: lot’s to learn still and life to be found if it’s there to find.

25. Crudely Wrott Says: January 16th, 2009 at 1:21 am

What would be astounding and counter intuitive would be notfinding tantalizing evidence pointing to a possibility of life on Mars.

After all, Mars is just next door and conditions there are only marginally different from conditions here and this place is lousy with life.

We have suspected as much for a long time, our suspicions only lacking observations which are now coming at us apace.

We are not alone, but our company lacks acumen in the conversational mode. They cannot describe us at the same time that we can describe them. Best course of action seems to be learning to exploit them before the learn to exploit us. After all, we are on the cusp of interplanetary mobility. They are stuck under the Martian surface.

I note, too, the dearth of probes from Mars investigating our planet . . .

26. Chris Miller’s Blog » Blog Archive » Linkdump for January 14th through January 15th Says: January 16th, 2009 at 2:08 am

[…] The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? - This could be huge. If life has independently evolved on two separate planets in our solar system, the implications for the rest of the Universe are staggering.tags: science space mars biology […]

27. Life On Mars? - Thinking Outside - News That’s Fit For The Great Outdoors Says: January 16th, 2009 at 2:31 am

[…] Zimmer’s post includes coverage of a press conference held today at NASA. Check it out for the details. […]

28. David Galbraith’s Blog » Blog Archive » Methane on Mars Says: January 16th, 2009 at 7:04 am

[…] Link […]

29. Icelander Says: January 16th, 2009 at 9:56 am

@Jason Hildebrand

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 9 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

It would probably be easier to simply split water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar or nuclear power and use the CO2 and hydrogen to make methane for fuel.

30. Juan Says: January 16th, 2009 at 10:39 am

“We are not alone, but our company lacks acumen in the conversational mode. ”

I’ve always thought the “Why haven’t they tried to contact us” question is like an ant colony in a Belizian jungle asking the same question about us.

31. Monkey Says: January 16th, 2009 at 10:49 am

I have a student in my grade 11 class that ran to me yesterday - he is an exchange student from Sweden - and in broken english tried to explain all this to me in about 5 seconds. He managed to get the swedish newspaper, translate it and fill me in as I was teaching!! IT is cool to see kids get excited, even more cool when they find new info and bring it to you!

Good stuff here Carl; I will put this up in my class today and fill all the rest of my students in. Thanks.

32. Monkey Says: January 16th, 2009 at 10:52 am

RE: JUAN - “I’ve always thought the “Why haven’t they tried to contact us” question is like an ant colony in a Belizian jungle asking the same question about us.”

Nice. Well put.

33. Spiv Says: January 16th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

“Intelligent Designer:” The discovery wasn’t made by NASA in the first place. Not to mention they have a whopping 0.2 to 0.5% of the federal budget, depending on whether you count social security and medicare. On top of that, NASA prefers not to do things that will result in another “presidential directive,” on account of them almost always being unfunded directives. When that happens other programs get gutted to support the new thing.

This is not an asteroid on earth from mars, this is something producing massive amounts of methane on the red planet itself. Scientists are very open with the possibilities, as always, but likewise the press is always ready to jump to conclusions.

And don’t worry: finding life on another planet won’t change your unshakable faith anyway. You’ll just have to plant one more “put there to test our faith” or “devil did it.” . It really isn’t an issue of religion anyway. It’s an issue of science.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 10 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

Your quote has a lot of “if” and “might” language in it; which still holds true. If this is confirmed, it might be one of the biggest discoveries since heliocentricity. It will take a while to find out though. The best way to find out is to put it out there to the science community and get some more people working on possibilities.

34. Fatboy Says: January 16th, 2009 at 2:11 pm

I have a slightly OT question for Carl or one a knowledgeable commenter. When I did some googling for other evidences of life on Mars, I came across the following article on rocks with etchings similar to bacterial activity on Earth.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060512105730.htm

One of the things discussed in the article is that the researchers tried to extract DNA from the tunnels, but were unable to do so. I would imagine that if life arose independently on Mars, that it wouldn’t use DNA, but whatever molecule originated there capable of passing on genetic information.

So, my question is, were the researches simply using “DNA” as shorthand for long polymer molecule, or is there some reason to believe that whatever that molecule turns out to be, that it will have properties very similar to DNA, and thus current methods for extracting DNA should work on it as well?

35. Ludmila Says: January 16th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

While the work of Mumma is impressive I have a strong issue that he claims the first discovery of methane on Mars.

Please note this Science paper in 2004: Discovery of methane in the martian atmosphere, http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/306/5702/1758

In addition I would like you to note of the following: 2:21 Mumma is explaining some of the backstory–first reports of observations were in 2003. We knew we had methane since late 2003, he says. But they’ve been working to make the data “unassailable.

Well, bad luck, Mr. Mumma. It is not the fault of Vittorio Formisano and his Co-workers that your data in 2003 were not good enough to publish them in a peer reviewed paper or you decided to wait a little until the data quality would be better.

Instead you seem to have published your results here:

M. J. Mumma et al., Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 35, 937 (2003) Yeah, great. The Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. Big Deal. Has somebody a link to publication? I cannot find it.

It appears to me that Mr. Mumma and NASA try to diminish the role of Vittorio Formisano. In my book he still remains the first true discoverer of methane on Mars.

36. A Hint Of Possible Life On Mars « Random Smattering Says:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 11 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

January 16th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

[…] For more coverage check here and here. […]

37. Carolyn Says: January 16th, 2009 at 11:37 pm

I want to believe this is evidence of life…but there have been so many recent findings like this that have gotten everyone excited and then…nothing. http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/science/2009/jan/Methane-Belch-Ignites-Yet-Another- Discussion-of-Life-on-Mars.html

38. AMERICAN NONSENSE » This Week in Science Says: January 17th, 2009 at 12:33 pm

[…] prodigious amounts of the substance methane during the long Martian summer. Via Carl Zimmer at Discover: It’s coming out of Mars at the same rate seen at methane-producing spots on Earth … […]

39. microbial methane on mars « jesse merle Says: January 17th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

[…] that or they’re getting fooled by some crazy alien geophysics. Writes Carl Zimmer: The researchers today today are reporting that in 2003 and 2006, they recorded plumes of methane […]

40. Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog » Evolution, Methane, Jobs, Food and More Says: January 17th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

[…] Martian Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? […]

41. Edna Gardener Says: January 17th, 2009 at 2:02 pm

According to Wikipedia:

“Methane clathrate, also called methane hydrate or methane ice, is a solid form of water that contains a large amount of methane within its crystal structure (a clathrate hydrate). Originally thought to occur only in the outer regions of the Solar System where temperatures are low and water ice is common, significant deposits of methane clathrate have been found under sediments on the ocean floors of Earth. [1]”

The release of methane could indicate a continuation of the Martian warming trend that has caused the former flows of water to sink subsurface. As the deepest soil warms, the methane hydrates melt, releasing methane into the atmosphere.

Scientists predict that sufficient global warming on Earth could melt the deep sea methane hydrates, releasing catastrophic amounts of additional greenhouse gasses into Earth’s atmosphere.

42. Diego Says: January 17th, 2009 at 9:53 pm

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/01/15/live-blogging-the-mars-methane-mystery-aliens-at-last/ Page 12 of 18 Live Blogging The Mars Methane Mystery: Aliens At Last? | The Loom | Discover Magazine 1/19/09 5:22 PM

“RE: JUAN - “I’ve always thought the “Why haven’t they tried to contact us” question is like an ant colony in a Belizian jungle asking the same question about us.”

Nice. Well put”

I’m not so sure that analogy is working: the ants may not be asking the question ‘why haven’t they tried to contact us’, but we’re certainly very interested in them. Check ‘The Soul of the White Ant’ by Eugene Marais, or ask any entomologist.

43. A month of Mondays « It’s Alive!! Says: January 19th, 2009 at 8:01 am

[…] yes there’s been a lack of postings since NYE. Someone told me I missed out on life on mars, but that isn’t showing up until February according to Channel Ten, and its only a US remake […]

44. Mars methane media mess | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine Says: January 19th, 2009 at 9:00 am

[…] Society blog has an excellent article as well. My fellow Hive Overmind blogger Carl Zimmer live blogged the press conference and produced an excellent […]