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METHANE on Mars? Maybe not, according to the latest readings from NASA鈥檚 Curiosity rover. The robot鈥檚 search for the organic gas, the first to be carried out within Mars鈥檚 atmosphere, has essentially found nothing.
Hints of methane have been swirling since 2003, when ground-based telescopes and a European orbiter detected its signatures on Mars. And in 2009, scientists using telescopes in Hawaii claimed to have seen localised plumes near the Martian equator, suggesting pockets of methane-producing life may thrive underground.
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From its position on Mars鈥檚 surface, Curiosity used a laser spectrometer to sniff samples of air and look for chemical signatures of methane. But after four analyses of two samples, the tests revealed such tiny traces that nothing is conclusive.
Still, the team say they will keep looking. 鈥淓verything is open at this point,鈥� team member Sushil Atreya said during a press briefing on 2 November.
