Methane and Mars

Abstract

This chapter talks about the astronomers who have been searching for evidence of methane in the atmosphere of Mars for half a century and trying to address the question of why it is there. It clarifies that methane is a simple molecule that packs a very powerful astrobiological punch and is impossible to exist in the oxygen-rich, hydrogen-poor Martian environment without it being actively created by living things. It also points out how the discovery of methane in the atmosphere of Mars could be unequivocal proof that life exists or existed on Mars. The chapter explains that methane is a colorless, odorless gas that is the simplest possible molecule composed of both and only hydrogen and carbon atoms. It emphasizes that methane in the Martian atmosphere simply cannot survive for long and it could have been converted to carbon dioxide and water.