[en] The detection of methane on Mars has been interpreted as indicating that geochemical or biotic activities could persist on Mars today 1 . A number of different measurements of methane show evidence of transient, locally elevated methane concentrations and seasonal variations in background methane concentrations 2–5 . These measurements, however, are difficult to reconcile with our current understanding of the chemistry and physics of the Martian atmosphere 6,7 , which—given methane’s lifetime of several centuries—predicts an even, well mixed distribution of methane 1,6,8 . Here we report highly sensitive measurements of the atmosphere of Mars in an attempt to detect methane, using the ACS and NOMAD instruments onboard the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter from April to August 2018. We did not detect any methane over a range of latitudes in both hemispheres, obtaining an upper limit for methane of about 0.05 parts per billion by volume, which is 10 to 100 times lower than previously reported positive detections 2,4 . We suggest that reconciliation between the present findings and the background methane concentrations found in the Gale crater 4 would require an unknown process that can rapidly remove or sequester methane from the lower atmosphere before it spreads globally.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Korablev, O.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Vandaele, A. C.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Daerden, F.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Thomas, I. R.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Trompet, L.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Erwin, J. T.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Quantin-Nata, C.; Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
Renotte, Etienne ; Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems (AMOS), Liège, Belgium
Ritter, Birgit ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Rodin, A.; School of Fundamental and Applied Physics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Moscow, Russian Federation
Schmidt, F.; Geosciences Paris Sud (GEOPS), Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France
Schneider, N.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Boulder, CO, United States
Shematovich, V.; Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Smith, M. D.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Teanby, N. A.; School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Thiemann, E.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Boulder, CO, United States
Aoki, S.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Thomas, N.; University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Vander Auwera, Jean
Vazquez, L.; Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Villanueva, G.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Vincendon, M.; Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France
Whiteway, J.; Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
Wilquet, V.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Wolff, M. J.; Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, United States
Wolkenberg, P.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
Yelle, R.; Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Robert, S.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Zasova, L.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Zorzano, M. P.; Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden, Centro de Astrobiología, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (CSIC/INTA), Madrid, Spain
The ACS and NOMAD Science Teams
Neary, L.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Viscardy, S.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Grigoriev, A. V.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Ignatiev, N. I.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Shakun, A.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Patrakeev, A.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Belyaev, D. A.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Bertaux, J.-L.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
Olsen, K. S.; Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), UVSQ Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
Alday, J.; Department of Physics, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
Ivanov, Y. S.; Main Astronomical Observatory (MAO), National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
Ristic, B.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Mason, J.; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Willame, Y.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Depiesse, C.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Hetey, L.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Berkenbosch, S.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Clairquin, R.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Queirolo, C.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Beeckman, B.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Neefs, E.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Patel, M. R.; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Bellucci, G.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
López-Moreno, J.-J.; Instituto de Astrofìsica de Andalucía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Granada, Spain
Wilson, C. F.; Department of Physics, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
Etiope, G.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Zelenyi, L.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Svedhem, H.; European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), ESA, Noordwijk, Netherlands
Vago, J. L.; European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), ESA, Noordwijk, Netherlands
Alonso-Rodrigo, G.; Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (IDR-UPM), Madrid, Spain
Altieri, F.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
Anufreychik, K.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Arnold, G.; Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany
Bauduin, Simon ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'aérospatiale et mécanique > Ingénierie des véhicules terrestres
Bolsée, D.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Carrozzo, G.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
Clancy, R. T.; Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, United States
Cloutis, E.; Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
Crismani, M.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Da Pieve, F.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
D’Aversa, E.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
Encrenaz, T.; Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, Paris, France
Fouchet, T.; Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, Paris, France
Funke, B.; Instituto de Astrofìsica de Andalucía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Granada, Spain
Fussen, D.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
Garcia-Comas, M.; Instituto de Astrofìsica de Andalucía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Granada, Spain
Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO)
Giuranna, M.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
Gkouvelis, Leonardos ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Gonzalez-Galindo, F.; Instituto de Astrofìsica de Andalucía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Granada, Spain
Grassi, D.; Instituto de Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, INAF, Rome, Italy
Guerlet, S.; Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD), CNRS Jussieu, Paris, France
Hartogh, P.; Max Planck Institute, Göttingen, Germany
Holmes, J.; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Hubert, Benoît ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Kaminski, J.; Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Karatekin, O.; Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Kasaba, Y.; Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Kass, D.; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Khatuntsev, I.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Kleinbohl, A.; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States
Kokonkov, N.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
Krasnopolsky, V.; Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, United States, School of Fundamental and Applied Physics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Moscow, Russian Federation
Kuzmin, R.; Space Research Institute (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation, Vernadsky Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russian Federation
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