You may have seen the news a few weeks ago about recent data published by NASA providing further evidence of the presence of methane on Mars (https://lib-cosmos.merici.act.edu.au/space/mars-rover-finds-organics-changing-methane-levels).
In Term 1, Year 11 Chemistry students completed a written task examining the ongoing research relating to the presence of methane on the Red Planet. There is a fascinating and convoluted story behind our current - still incomplete - understanding of this phenomenon, including uncertainty about the apparently fleeting nature of the gas and whether its detection has implications for the long hoped-for discovery of life on Mars. The technology needed to perform this research at such long distances and with such sensitivity is also fascinating and a great example of engineering being pushed to its limits.
This week we publish one of the Year 11s' articles on this subject, written by Rosie Zielinski.