CURIOSITY SNIFFS OUT MARS METHANE SURGES

Our second favourite mate on the red planet has done it again.

Curiosity Rover has discovered that the Gale Crater, a 154km wide crevice, has cyclical methane levels with massive surges of the gas.

This could be... *holds breath*  possible signs of life.

But this is where it gets weird.

The European-Russian Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) specifically tasked with finding methane sees nothing.

The martian air has next to none of it.

The TGO has reliably reported methane levels of 0.012 parts per billion (ppb) over a four-month stretch in 2018.

Whilst Curiosity experienced 0.42ppb, about 35 times that of the TGO.

The devices are used simultaneously and when Curiosity discovered the recent methane spike, the TGO and Mars Express - a European probe orbiting Mars - detected nothing.

During this event which took place in June this year, methane levels grew to an astounding 21ppb around Curiosity.

The inaccuracy of either device has scientists at a loss.

Possibly something in the atmosphere dissipates methane very quickly.

Perhaps the expansion and contraction of the atmosphere from solar heating is to blame.

The mystery of Mars surging methane remains.

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