In a story today by Bob Yirka at Phys.org, it has been reported that the
Curiosity Rover has found high levels (21 parts per billion) of methane at a site on Mars.
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Originally Posted by Bob Yirka at Phys.org
The existence of methane is, of course, a possible sign of life, since it is produced in abundance by microorganisms here on Earth.
The methane readings were reportedly three times as high as the previous record on Mars—enough for officials at NASA to change the schedule for the rover over the weekend. They had the rolling probe take more readings at the same site, which, the JPL reports, should be ready for release as early as today. If the readings are due to some form of life, NASA scientists expect it would be in the form of microbes living just under the surface.
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However, as has been noted :-
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Originally Posted by Bob Yirka at Phys.org
it is possible that a geological process long ago could have generated some amount of methane, and it became trapped beneath the surface—its presence on the surface now would be the result of a slow leak.
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Story here :-
https://phys.org/news/2019-06-curios...hane-mars.html
BBC report :-
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48743551
NASA Press Release :-
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/cur...ethane-levels/