Although it is still a long way off, NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is being tested to fly astronauts to Mars for the first time in our history of space exploration. In addition, the new space station that will orbit the Moon, the Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway, is intended as a base from which Orion will launch into deep space and, of course, to Mars. Orion will house up to six astronauts and manned missions are expected to begin around 2028.
Let's also remember that Mars also has methane.
Methane is a key molecule for life. The presence of methane could improve habitability and may even be a signature of life, but it was only independently confirmed in 2019. Using numerical models and geological analysis, a team of researchers from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome, Italy, proposes not only methane exists on Mars, but they also suggest where it might be located. Methane is a chemical compound closely associated with microbial life, but it is not necessarily biological in nature.
There is a strong possibility that methane is generated geologically, and this is what this new article also suggests. However, since the researchers pinpointed a promising location for future research on the origin of methane on Mars , we have a starting point for future missions to investigate the origin of this important chemical.
