Methane on Mars

Is there life on Mars?

Curiosity Rover Finds

Methane on Mars:
What It Could Mean
for Life

http://www.space.com/28019-mars-metha
ne-disovery-curiosity-rover.html

Summary

Curiosity discovered a spike in methane levels around its landing site

Background methane levels are ~ 0.7 part per billion by volume

4 measurements across 2 months showed 10-fold spikes in methane levels

Methane is commonly produced by biological processes

Geological processes also produce it

Different isotopes of methane can be analyzed to determine its producer

New tools are needed to probe the Martian atmosphere

Animation

Animation

Cellular Respiration

Cellular
Respiration

ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE
(ATP)

Cellular Respiration
Glycolysis
Available Oxygen

Aerobic

Krebs cycle

e transport chain

chemiosmosis

No Oxygen

Anaerobic

fermentation

methanogenesis

Glycolysis

Always carried out in cytoplasm

10-step process: 1 glucose 2 pyruvate

Net 2 ATPs (substrate-level phosphorylation)

Requires free NAD+ to store e- for ETC

Cellular Respiration
Glycolysis
Available Oxygen

Aerobic

No Oxygen

Anaerobic

Krebs cycle

fermentation

e- transport chain

methanogenesis

chemiosmosis

Mitochondria

Krebs/Citric
Acid cycle
Twice in stroma (once/pyruvate)
Extract energy from pyruvates in e form
Final results:

6 NADH
2 FADH2
2 ATPs
6 CO2

Electron Transport Chain (ETC)

e- from NADH and FADH2 create H+ gradient

electronegative O2 drives and terminates chain (O 2 + 4H+ + 4e- 2H2O)

Chemiosmosis
H+ travels DOWN H+ gradient
ATP synthase
Oxidative phosphorylation
90% of ATPs produced

Aerobic Respiration

Glycolysis Krebs cycle ETC chemiosmosis

Requires O2 as final electron acceptor

UP TO 36-38 ATPs phosphorylated

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 +

6H2O
G = -686kJ/mol

Complicated?
Controlled method of
extracting energy.

Problem?

What if theres no oxygen?

NADH (e- carrier) cannot be converted back to NAD+ for glycolysis

Glycolysis shuts down DEATH

Anaerobic
Respiration

Cellular Respiration
Glycolysis
Available Oxygen

Aerobic

No Oxygen

Anaerobic

Krebs cycle

fermentation

e- transport chain

methanogenesis

chemiosmosis

Fermentation
Alcohol fermentation

pyruvate becomes:
ethyl alcohol
CO2

NADH NAD

Lactic acid fermentation

pyruvate becomes:
lactic acid

Baking (CO2)

Beer (ethyl alcohol)

NADH NAD+

Muscle fatigue b/c lack of O2

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Converting light energy into chemical energy

Reactants: carbon dioxide, water

Products: glucose, oxygen

Requires light energy (i.e. from sun)

Relevance to Mars

Confirmed presence of water on Mars

Mostly ice, some in vapour form
Polar ice caps

Possible to support plant life on Mars

Animal life?

Methanogens

What are Methanogens?

Microbes, Archaebacteria

Bacteria that produce methane

Able to survive in a variety of environments

i.e. Low-oxygen

Methanogenesis
Form of anaerobic respiration
CO2 + 4 H2 CH4 + 2 H2O
(hydrogenotrophic)
Fairly complicated
Requires number of coenzymes,
cofactors

What does this mean?

Carbon dioxide is used to formylate methanofuran into formylmethanofuran

Formyl group (i.e. aldehyde) is donated to tetrahydrosarcinapterin

formyl-H4SPt

Condenses into methenyl group

Methenyl then reduced

methenyl methylene methyl

Methyl group donated to coenzyme M

Reacts with coenzyme B

Both have sulfhydride group, form disulfide bond

CH3SCoM + HSCoB CH4 + CoBSSCoM

Therefore,

methane is released

Methane Cycle

Methane Cycle

Tied to the carbon cycle

The methane cycle on Mars is practically unknown

Based upon conditions on Earth

Methane produced by anaerobic digestion or mineralisation of organic

matter
C6H12O6 3CO2 + 3CH4
Organic matter does not have to come from living things

Diagram

Natural Sources

Typically represented through sources and sinks

Some natural sources on Earth include

Wetlands
Oceans
Methane hydrates
Grazing animals
Termites

Natural sources contribute to about 30% of Earths yearly methane

production
Around 100 200 Tg per year (1011 21011 kg)

Human Sources

Human Sources

Agriculture
Waste disposal
Burning biomass

Human made sources generate around 70% of the worlds yearly methane
production or between 250 450 teragrams per year

Methane Sources

Methane Sources

Landfills; 6%

Animal Waste; 5%
Termites; 4%

Biomass Burning; 8%
Sewage Treatment; 5%
CH4 Hydrates and Ocean; 3%

Rice Cultivation; 12%

Wetlands; 22%

71% Anthropogenic (human)

29% Natural

Enteric Fermentation; 16%

Coal & Oil Mining/Natural Gas; 19%

Methane Sinks

Sinks generally fall into 3 categories

Reactions with hydroxyl radicals present in the environment (~90%)

Deposition in the atmosphere (~5%)
Trapped in the soil (~5%)

Each year approximately 560 Tg of methane are deposited in sinks

Methane Emissions

On Earth, around 70 80% of our atmospheric methane comes from

biological sources

Natural and cultivated submerged soil contribute about 55% of the methane
emitted

Soils out of water are responsible for about 5% of emitted methane

Methane Cycle
Wetlands contribute more methane
than

Highlands

Geological Methane

Geological Methane

Several geological processes produce methane as a by-product

Serpentinization:

The olivine mineral group (quite common on Mars) exhibits this process when water
is forced into the crystal structure
Involves the mineral being moved from an area of high temperature and pressure to
an area of low temperature and pressure
This forces out carbon atoms and causes them to bind with the hydrogen in the
added water

H2O

CH4

Production Processes

Surface Organics:

Bombarding organic materials with UV rays may cause it to decompose

Earths ozone layer limits process
UV radiation can freely bombard the Martian surface due to very thin atmosphere

Methane Clathrates

Clathrates:

Methane is insoluble and will form a solid if trapped in ice or sediments

Methane trapped in solid lattice (ice-like)
Significant deposits have been found at extreme depths and under oceans
Permafrost and glaciers on Earth contain deposits of methane which originated from
geological sources

Significant amount of methane clathrate stored in Martian soil

Life on Mars?

Mars has been volcanically inactive for millions of years

Some scientists believe that the primary source is methanogen bacteria

Methane produced in the past may still be stored beneath the surface

Life on Mars still ambiguous

Bias

Written by Space.com, there is some slight bias towards the space

community

This only seeks to discredit critics of space exploration

Supports NASA in ongoing budgetary fights with Congress

Overall pro-science

Future Research

Additional probes can be sent to further our understanding of the Martian

atmosphere

More drilling can be done using current rovers

Experiments using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can be carried out with
respect to organics

The newly arrived MAVEN can be used to return additional data

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutionN

Observations from Earth can be effected using space or land based

telescopes

Recreation of possible sources of Mars methane can be attempted

Activity

You are representing a broke biology teacher, Walter Black, in Tuscan, New
Mexico who wants to make and sell methane to raise money to cure his
arthritis.

He wants to make sure that the buyers of his 99.6% pure methane knows
about the science behind it.

To do this, he came up with a list of questions, progressively allowing a buyer

to buy more methane.

However, due to his high-school-dropout partner, James Blueman, not

understanding how basic biological interactions work, he has lost his answers
to an RV fire.

It is now your job to come up with the answers so he can continue to sell his
methane.

To make it more fun, his partner is also competing.

Discussion

A human expedition to Mars by the 2030s is seen as highly likely

NASA intends to send humans to Mars orbit in the 2030s

SpaceX is developing the Mars Colonial Transporter, aiming for a first flight in the
2020s

Mars colonization efforts are estimated to begin shortly after landings

Considering that Martian life is likely to be present, should we send human

expeditions knowing that they may contaminate Martian organisms?