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Mystery of Missing Martian Methane Deepens
astroengine writes "NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has been scouring the thin Martian atmosphere for methane — a potential tracer for the presence of Martian life. However, since the gas also can be produced geologically, any findings promised a meaty debate. That discussion can be shelved, perhaps permanently, new findings from a team of Curiosity scientists shows. The most extensive search yet for methane in Mars' atmosphere has come up empty. 'It's disappointing, of course. We would have liked to get [to Gale Crater] and found lots of methane and measure all the isotopes,' lead researcher Christopher Webster, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told Discovery News."
Mystery of Missing Martian Methane Magnifies?
Those Martians are already sufficiently advanced to figure out how to sequester methane within deep underground phracking sites.
In order for the mystery to deepen, we would first need to have a mystery, even a shallow(?) one. But what do we have here? A complete lack of a mystery.
Yes, life can produce methane. Yes, some geological processes can produce methane. Mars has neither... So?
I have a complete lack of Siberian tigers in my basement. That doesn't count as a mystery, deep or otherwise.
Homer's favorite byproduct.
"Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair" - George Washington
Women don't fart, and neither do Martians.
Some settling may occur during posting.
There were no martian cows!
Circle the wagons and fire inward. Entropy increases without bounds.
Have they tried checking behind the cushions of the sofa? If anything goes missing that's where it usually ends up.
One of the other landers found perchlorate compounds in the soil. Would those oxidise methane under Martian conditions (e.g. with a bit of ultraviolet light to kick-start the reaction)?
It's only a mystery to those who assumed it should be there. After all, we all know life started on mars, hitched a ride on an asteroid, only to land on earth.
So much for Occam's razor.
to.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madera_crater ?
Lots of methane or trace amounts? Or very little at all? What isotopes.
Mars is a dead planet, supposedly if there where any life at all it would only exist in extremely unique and sheltered conditions.
Sending a probe to an exposed crater is not likely to produce results. Mars needs a century of exploration, or at least a few decades of manned exploration before we can say yes, no, maybe with much of a degree of certainty. I've seen more yes's than no's. And this mission is a weak no in my book.
It begins with Christopher Webster stating in no uncertain terms, this is the way things are and there isnt any methane to be found. His statements clearly hint toward doubt of the earlier measurements ..."the plumes were already hard to explain" Only to be contradicted later by Michael Mummy saying "I found them and they were really there... it must be a currently unknown 'process' that destroys methane at something near 100 times the currently accepted natural rate." (summary)
Hilariously, the author combines the competing opinions without directly acknowledging the disagreement.
Bad science doesnt go away, It circles around itself and refuses to admit flaws.
Just means that A) we're in the wrong place on the planet (maybe looking closer to areas of water ice) and B) we don't have enough probes scattered around the planet.
If they sent Curiosity to Uranus
One site tells the greatest information only about that one site and nothing more! :)
The message received from the anonymous source was first decyphered by MartianBrainBasedDecoder, than translated to (one of) standart earhians languages. We believe it was originally mentally transmitted 2 to 1 years ago. (MartianLeakes comment).
FROM: Central Defensive Strategy Post of Mars
TO: ALL ALL ALL
TOPIC: Counter Earth-spying mimicry and methane gas
TEXT: From last dissasemblies of captured earthians spying devices (codenames Phobos 1, 2, Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander) we believe that earthians are or soon will be able to detect methane gas produced by our units. Therefore Central Defensive Strategy Post of Mars decided the following:
1) Increase HID CON*) state to level 2.
2) Thus strictly forbid any non spacesuit-protected units to move on the opened surface of Mars (anybody, including child units, anywhere, no exclusions).
3) Order special chemical units to remove any traces of methan gas from the atmosphere over the opened surface of Mars ASAP.
*) HID CON = shortcut for the martians units Hiding Condition (MartianLeakes comment):
Level 5 - normal martian life status
Level 4 - no martians units are allowed to appear in the sighting field of cameras on the earth origin devices
Level 3 - no martians units are allowed to appear in the 5 km circle area around earth origin devices; any signs of intelligent life (and any life in fact) must be preemptively removed from the expected direction of earth origin devices movement, while any units on this task must wear appropriate mimicry suits.
Level 2 - all activities are suppressed except of deep inside caverns of Mars; special units are allowed to monitor earthians activities only in the special spacesuits.
Level 1 - we are doomed; remember indians in the intercepted earthians video transmittions and defend bravely untill the last stand
"Interesting times to you..." (One of the most feared black magic curses.)
Sun's ultraviolet creates H2O2 from CO2; H2O2 'scrubs' methane. Next question??
"You must try to forget all you have learned. You must begin to dream." -- Sherwood Anderson