"NASA’s Curiosity Rover has detected methane in Gale Crater on Mars, a surprising find as there are no signs of life on the planet. Scientists are exploring geological sources and seasonal patterns for these emissions, with methane levels showing unusual fluctuations and disappearing during the day. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com" (ScitechDaily, Martian Methane Baffles Scientists: Curiosity Rover’s Surprising Discovery)
The Curiosity rover detected one very interesting thing about the methane gas flow on Mars. There is no sign of life. But that mysterious methene flow increases in night time, and then it decreases in the daytime. That means the methane acts opposite to the natural reaction. If there is some kind of natural thing like a mineral, that releases methene, this thing means that the reaction should accelerate when sunlight brings energy to the reaction. Maybe sunlight just destroys the methane molecule.
"Curiosity set out to answer the question: Did Mars ever have the right environmental conditions to support small life forms called microbes? Early in its mission, Curiosity’s scientific tools found chemical and mineral evidence of past habitable environments on Mars. It continues to explore the rock record from a time when Mars could have been home to microbial life. Credit: NASA" (ScitechDaily, Martian Methane Baffles Scientists: Curiosity Rover’s Surprising Discovery)
When sunlight impacts the carbon, that sends radiation impulses to hydrogen atoms, and that impulse breaks the chemical bonds in that molecule. So the sunlight breaks methane immediately when the mineral releases it. But we must also think that the methane emission acts like the UV-shy bacteria would act. If the UV radiation hits those bacteria, that thing causes those hypothetical bacteria will turn into the sleep mood. The problem is that there should also be other metabolism products than methane.
"This image shows features known as ‘spiders’ near Mars’s south pole, as seen by the CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System) instrument aboard ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.
These features form when spring sunshine falls on layers of carbon dioxide deposited over the dark winter months. "(ScitechDaily, Mars Express Discovers Mysterious Martian “Spiders”)
"The sunlight causes carbon dioxide ice at the bottom of the layer to warm up and turn to gas, which then builds up and breaks through slabs of overlying ice. The emerging gas, laden with dark dust, shoots up through cracks in the ice in the form of tall fountains or geysers, before falling back down and settling on the surface, creating dark spots. This same process creates characteristic ‘spider-shaped’ patterns etched beneath the ice: the very same patterns shown here.
Credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS" (ScitechDaily, Mars Express Discovers Mysterious Martian “Spiders”)
"The dark spots in this image from ESA’s Mars Express are the telltale sign of ‘spiders’ scattered across the southern polar region of Mars. These small features form when carbon dioxide gas warms up in sunlight and breaks through slabs of overlying ice, etching branched grooves into the surface and dragging dark material up to the surface to form dark blotches.
Many such blotches can be seen within the dark region to the left of the frame, which sits at the outskirts of a part of Mars nicknamed Inca City. The reason for this name is clear, with the linear, almost geometric network of ridges being reminiscent of Inca ruins.
Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin". (ScitechDaily, Mars Express Discovers Mysterious Martian “Spiders”)
"This oblique perspective view looks across a part of Mars nicknamed Inca City (formally named Angustus Labyrinthus). The reason for this is no mystery, with the linear network of ridges being reminiscent of Inca ruins. Traces of features known as ‘spiders’ can be seen; these small, dark features form as carbon dioxide gas warms up in sunlight and breaks through slabs of overlying ice. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin" (ScitechDaily, Mars Express Discovers Mysterious Martian “Spiders”)
The Mars Express probe detected strange "spiders" on the polar region of the Mars planet.
The "martian spider" is one of the newest red planet's mysteries. Those forms may be forming when lightning from the sand devils hits the sand below them. The sand devil is the dust tornado that travels in the Martian atmosphere. The friction between the sand bites forms static electricity. And that means the sand devil acts like a thundercloud. Static electricity can also form lightning in the Martian icy clouds.
And sand devils can conduct that electricity to the Martian landscape. If the lightning hits methane ice on Mars, that causes an explosion. And that lightning forms a crater formation, that can look like a "spider". It's also possible that the dust bites can store static electricity. And when those particles fall to the ground, they send the energy impulses around them.
https://scitechdaily.com/martian-methane-baffles-scientists-curiosity-rovers-surprising-discovery/
https://scitechdaily.com/mars-express-discovers-mysterious-martian-spiders/
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