Methane is also a large part of human gas, ... Methane on Mars could possibly reveal that the planet is more active geologically than it seems, or even that it harbors microscopic life.

They then used computer simulations to create 1 million methane-release scenarios for every square, to assess the probability of each one as a source for the Gale gas.

“Mars is active,” said Michael Meyer of NASA’s Mars program. “Whether it’s geology or biology, we don’t yet know.” On Earth, the natural gas that heats our homes is mostly methane.

The methane gas was distributed unevenly over Mars' surface, which tends to support the theory that an internal, on-site source, rather than a comet, is the source generating the methane, said ...

Plumes of methane gas detected over certain locations on Mars in 2003 could point to active geological processes on the red planet, or perhaps even to methane-burping microbes deep below the ...

The Curiosity mission initially cast more doubt on the methane claims, as it detected very little of the gas, about 0.7 parts per billion. Then in 2013, the levels jumped by a factor of 10.

The most high-fidelity search for methane on Mars has turned up none, ... Curiosity will get some help in 2016, when the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is expected to reach the Red Planet.

NASA's Curiosity rover has recently made a surprising find on Mars that could help scientists get one step closer to figuring out if the Red Planet has ever supported life.

A surprising and mysterious belch of methane gas on Mars hints at possible microbial life underground, but also could come from changes in rocks, a new NASA study found. The presence of methane on ...

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has detected no trace of methane, contradicting earlier observations that suggest that the organic molecule might be present on the Red Planet.

WASHINGTON – A surprising and mysterious belch of methane gas on Mars hints at possible microbial life underground, but also could come from changes in rocks, a new NASA study found. The pres… ...

Europe's Mars Express spacecraft has confirmed a June 2013 detection of methane — a possible sign of Red Planet life — by NASA's Curiosity rover.