Methane on Mars?

mbone writes "Two independent groups are claiming the detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere, one using the Mars Express orbiter, and the other using ground based telescopes. This detection, if confirmed, would be of great significance for the search of life on Mars, as Methane will not last long in the Martian atmosphere and thus must be renewed, presumably either by biological processes or by volcanic vents, which would be a good place for life to develop. The leader of the ground based astronomy team, Michael Mumma of the Goddard Space Flight Center, when asked if the methane was biological in origin, said 'I think it is, myself personally.'"

Comments

Life on Mars, yeah right!

[fuzzy12345]

Am I the only one who thinks that, given the very low probability of life on any given other planet, the chances of finding life on the only other planet we can get to right now are astronomically low?

The cynic in me thinks that the folks at NASA are just raising the hopes of all those gullible people out there, to get more funding. Doing science that you know has a popular hook is one thing, but doing non-science as an excuse for cool engineering is inexcusable.

Re:Finding what one looks for.

[BigBadBri]

Is it just me, or does a propensity to capitalise the first letter of otherwhise unremarkable nouns betray a certain amount of Religious Brainwashing as a Young Person?

Personally, I think is shows that the thinking of such people is mired in early-Victorian (yes - that should be capitalised, as it refers to a person's name) anti-scientific religiosity, and that is why I ignore their outdated and almost universally derided opinions on the origins of life.