Ongoing research relating to the presence of methane on the Red Planet

This week we publish one of our Year 11 students' articles on this subject, written by Rosie Zielinski.

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.

 

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