After the triple treat on MARS-MAVEN-MOM I had written on my blog; here comes another M-3 again pertaining to Mars; the Missing Methane on Mars. The idea of writing this blog is not only to explain where does our understanding on the presence of Methane today but also to elucidate: What could be stored in FUTURE for the detection chances of Methane?
Today, the 20th Sept, 2013, the news is splashed across the internet that a huge expectation of finding Methane on Mars by Curiosity has hit the dead end; METHANE NOT TO BE SEEN ON MARS; declared the scientists involved ( Nature Report ). As per the original paper ( Science ) the lead author and the scientist in-charge of Curiosity, Methane seeking instrument at JPL, Dr. Chris Webster said "it was a Surprise and a Disappointment". As per Kenneth Chang's New York Times (NYT) press report, another well known planetary scientist, a member of science team, Curiosity mission from University of Michigan, Sushil K. Atreya pointed "You dont have direct evidence that there is a microbial process going on". From the same report, the project scientist Dr. J.P. Grotzinger claims that the lack of the evidence for this gas "does diminish" the possibility of methane exhaling creatures going about their business on Mars.
Today, the 20th Sept, 2013, the news is splashed across the internet that a huge expectation of finding Methane on Mars by Curiosity has hit the dead end; METHANE NOT TO BE SEEN ON MARS; declared the scientists involved ( Nature Report ). As per the original paper ( Science ) the lead author and the scientist in-charge of Curiosity, Methane seeking instrument at JPL, Dr. Chris Webster said "it was a Surprise and a Disappointment". As per Kenneth Chang's New York Times (NYT) press report, another well known planetary scientist, a member of science team, Curiosity mission from University of Michigan, Sushil K. Atreya pointed "You dont have direct evidence that there is a microbial process going on". From the same report, the project scientist Dr. J.P. Grotzinger claims that the lack of the evidence for this gas "does diminish" the possibility of methane exhaling creatures going about their business on Mars.
A detail investigation carried out by Dr. M. Mumma of Goddrad Space Flight Center indicated that they had spotted whiffs of Methane on Mars. The gas could have come from Martian microbes, geological activity or could have been delivered due to the crashing of comets. The ground telescopes as well as few space crafts have made a positive measurements and set a availability range of 10-40 parts per billion (ppb) by volume in the Martian atmosphere. Since the Methane takes centuries to disintegrate in the atmosphere; the scientists were thrilled that the methane they are seeing is of recent activity and hence a about the possibility of LIFE on mars. As per the reports (Mumma et al.) a largest belch of 17-tonnes blooms would appear and get dissipated within a year. Dr. Mumma's claim (nature report), that more than the peak concentration, the short life term of these peaks are very striking. Compared to a 10 ppb of methane living for 300 years in the atmosphere; the findings of 60-ppb amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere (by Mars Express) and disappearing in a year time is "a big deal" said Dr. Sushil K. Atreya co-author of Mars Express paper. As per Atreya, the methane could could be of I. biological (microbes living deep below in a permafrost regionsand their waste methane could percolate up and leak out) or II. geological (chemical reaction of volcanic rocks with water) origin. The THIRD possibility could be methane escaping from buried clathrates. In a recent interview ( New York Times Report) Dr. Mumma did confirmed that he strongly believed in his publications; but had said that the presence of methane could be episodic; he went on jokingly that there could be huge colonies of microbes which could be consuming the methane on Mars.
Now with the past arguments and publications leading to set a value of mixing ratios of 10-60 ppb Methane in the Martian atmosphere; and the huge whiffs of 17-tonnes would have lead to a background value of 6-ppb (estimation). The present news of Curiosity attempting to measure Methane (in THREE tests) during October-November 2013 suggesting that the atmosphere held no more than 3-ppb is a huge dampener. The earlier 3-tests in June too ended in NO findings of Methane and an average of 1.33 ppb from SIX tests is certainly a DISAPPOINTMENT as claimed by Dr. Webster.
Finally, referring to the comments of Dr. Webster's in NYT report at the end; that when the Indian space craft MOM due to be sent to Mars in a month; they "may be disappointed". I fully disagree with this statement. As has already been pointed out; the prevailing conditions on Mars are very very different than what one could predict and estimate from earth. History is a mute spectator to the recent episode of toppling of the MOONDRY notion by Chandrayaan-I. It was the indigenous instrument, CHACE (Our Paper) during the Moon Impact Probe mission, that had FIRST ever recorded the ambient presence of rich amount of gaseous species in its decent journey of 22-minutes during the lunar day time. No one ever believed that time (Pre-2008) that there could be an abundance amount of species prevailing in the range of 10(+7) to 10(+8) particles per cc. As a team leader, I have had the experience of building a quadrupole mass spectrometer; WHICH MEASURES THE GASEOUS SPECIES IN THE SAMPLING AMBIANCE. The CHACE was capable of measuring a charge which produces a minuscule amount of currents in the order of 10 (-15) ampere range and leading to a MOST SENSITIVE aspect of measuring partial pressures of prevailing gaseous species as low as 10 (-14) torr. Few ppb level of Methane on Mars would translate into a partial pressures in the order of 10(-10) to 10(-11) torr range; which is certainly in the measurable range of the quadrupole mass spectrometer, MENCA on board MOM. However, the choice of Martian orbit parameters appear to be dictated by the fuel which MOM has carried; this certainly going to be determental to MENCA in capturing the neutrals at 370-kms. Depending upon the prevailing condition of sampling ambiance on Mars, the instruments of MOM (MENCA, Methane Sensor for Mars, MSM) which are a heritage class of Chandrayaan-I; may certainly get a chance to give their best shot in measuring the ELUSIVE METHANE.
N.B. : My recent blog offers detailed discussion on the instruments MOM is carrying and the possibility of detection of Methane on Mars.
25th September, 2013:
Here is the valuable comment (I received as a mail) from none other than the scientist in-charge for the Curiosity instrument; Dr. Christ Webster:
Dear Dr. Ahmed,
I very much enjoyed reading your well-written and accurate blog on Mars methane and ISRO’s upcoming mission to Mars. To clarify the quote from me that the ISRO MOM mission “may be disappointed” I was of course referring to the scenario of no detectable methane in the Mars atmosphere over the next few years, and agree that that is presumptuous at this stage until we better understand how to reconcile the various observations to date. However, I would point out that IF there should be future episodic methane injection as observed in 2003, then both Curiosity and MOM could contribute, even if it occurred across the other side of the planet from Curiosity. That is, Curiosity should see the signature of the plumes in the background levels going up after a few months, while the methane sensor MSM on ISRO’s MOM and the methane mapper on ESA’s ExoMars orbiters would be able to directly map the plumes in real time - that would be really exciting! Mars hold surprises, no doubt, and the methane story is not over yet. I very much look forward to the results from both the Indian and European missions.
Regards, Chris W.
Dr. Christopher R. Webster
Director, Microdevices Laboratory
Manager, Planetary Science Instruments Office (420)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Office: (818) 354-7478 Cell: (818) 653-8379
25th September, 2013:
Here is the valuable comment (I received as a mail) from none other than the scientist in-charge for the Curiosity instrument; Dr. Christ Webster:
Dear Dr. Ahmed,
I very much enjoyed reading your well-written and accurate blog on Mars methane and ISRO’s upcoming mission to Mars. To clarify the quote from me that the ISRO MOM mission “may be disappointed” I was of course referring to the scenario of no detectable methane in the Mars atmosphere over the next few years, and agree that that is presumptuous at this stage until we better understand how to reconcile the various observations to date. However, I would point out that IF there should be future episodic methane injection as observed in 2003, then both Curiosity and MOM could contribute, even if it occurred across the other side of the planet from Curiosity. That is, Curiosity should see the signature of the plumes in the background levels going up after a few months, while the methane sensor MSM on ISRO’s MOM and the methane mapper on ESA’s ExoMars orbiters would be able to directly map the plumes in real time - that would be really exciting! Mars hold surprises, no doubt, and the methane story is not over yet. I very much look forward to the results from both the Indian and European missions.
Regards, Chris W.
Dr. Christopher R. Webster
Director, Microdevices Laboratory
Manager, Planetary Science Instruments Office (420)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Office: (818) 354-7478 Cell: (818) 653-8379
