dmcowen674
No Lifer
7-21-2004 Ammonia on Mars could mean life
Ammonia survives for only a short time in the Martian atmosphere so if it really does exist it must be getting constantly replenished.
There are two possible sources: either active volcanoes, none of which have been found yet on Mars, or microbes.
The tentative detection of ammonia comes just a few months after methane was found in the Martian atmosphere. Methane is another gas with a possible biological origin.
Ammonia is not a stable molecule in the Martian atmosphere. If it was not replenished in some way, it would only last a few hours before it vanished.
The importance of ammonia is that it is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.
Nitrogen is rare in the Martian environment but because no form of terrestrial life can exist without it, the presence of ammonia may indicate that Martian microbial life is hoarding it.
"There are no known ways for ammonia to be present in the Martian atmosphere that do not involve life," the Nasa scientist said.
The twin US rovers that landed on the Red Planet in January will be unable to answer the question of the ammonia's origin as they are designed for geological work.
But future missions could include sensors to analyse the ammonia to determine if it has a biological or volcanic origin. Lava deposited on to the surface, or released underground, could produce the gas.
But, so far, no active volcanic hotspots have been detected on the planet by the many spacecraft currently in orbit.
Ammonia survives for only a short time in the Martian atmosphere so if it really does exist it must be getting constantly replenished.
There are two possible sources: either active volcanoes, none of which have been found yet on Mars, or microbes.
The tentative detection of ammonia comes just a few months after methane was found in the Martian atmosphere. Methane is another gas with a possible biological origin.
Ammonia is not a stable molecule in the Martian atmosphere. If it was not replenished in some way, it would only last a few hours before it vanished.
The importance of ammonia is that it is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.
Nitrogen is rare in the Martian environment but because no form of terrestrial life can exist without it, the presence of ammonia may indicate that Martian microbial life is hoarding it.
"There are no known ways for ammonia to be present in the Martian atmosphere that do not involve life," the Nasa scientist said.
The twin US rovers that landed on the Red Planet in January will be unable to answer the question of the ammonia's origin as they are designed for geological work.
But future missions could include sensors to analyse the ammonia to determine if it has a biological or volcanic origin. Lava deposited on to the surface, or released underground, could produce the gas.
But, so far, no active volcanic hotspots have been detected on the planet by the many spacecraft currently in orbit.
