--- title: "New NASA Rover Discovery Hints at Signs of Life on Mars" description: "NASA's Curiosity Rover just found methane readings at a Martian site to be three times as high as the previously record level — posssibly a sign of life." date: "2019-06-24" modified: "2019-06-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-curiosity-methane-life-mars" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "curiosity" - "Curiosity rover" - "methane" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # New NASA Rover Discovery Hints at Signs of Life on Mars ![NASA's Curiosity Rover just found methane readings at a Martian site to be three times as high as the previously record level — posssibly a sign of life.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* ## Methane Spike This week, NASA's [Curiosity Rover]() detected methane readings [three times]() its previously highest ever recorded level, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). And that reading – 21 parts per billion units by volume – is a big deal. Methane is produced both by microbes on Earth and through interactions between rocks and water, meaning methane is a sign of life as we know it. The findings were taken by Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) tunable laser spectrometer. Unfortunately though, the instrument can't pinpoint the actual source of the methane with any accuracy. "With our current measurements, we have no way of telling if the methane source is biology or geology, or even ancient or modern," said SAM Principal Investigator Paul Mahaffy of NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center [in a statement](). The news comes after [scientists found]() that salty puddles underneath the Martian surface could allow bacterial life to survive. ## Whiffing Mars So far, thanks to NASA's rover missions on the Red Planet, we've observed methane levels as they rise and fall as seasons change. Rovers have even found the occasional spike in the past — but nowhere near this level. Before scientists at NASA can say with any certainty what caused this spike, a lot more research has to be done. JPL is also planning to work with the European Space Agency, whose [Trace Gas Orbiter](), an atmospheric research spacecraft that's been in Mars's orbit since 2016, has yet to detect any methane. **READ MORE:** [Curiosity detects unusually high methane levels on Mars]() \[*JPL*\] **More on Mars:** *[Extraterrestrial Life Could Feasibly Live in Salty Puddles on Mars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()