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According to recent findings by NASA scientists on Mars, there may be the possibility of life on the Red Planet because of an existence of methane gas. This find was published in the journal Science, stating that a seasonal variations in methane was found in the planet's atmosphere. This find demonstrated evidence of geological or biological processes to back this statement, with astrophysicist Geronimo Villaneuva stating, "Mars could be more active than we have long believed".

NASA scientists are not sure whether the Martian methane was produced by bacteria or from the "methane-ice deposits" with Villaneuva stating that the question of the possibility of Martian life is now being re-questioned. Plans had been made to monitor the atmosphere on Mars by using Earth bound infra-red telescopes for three years to look at 90% of the planet, with plumes of methane found in 2003. But newer studies are needed to locate the methane source. What made it stand out is that its amount equaled the same amount of Earth's most methane-rich locations on Earth, in addition to just being there. One of the plumes alone released about 19,000 metric tons of methane, with the majority of plumes found in the northern hemisphere of Mars.

These newer studies are important, because it is known that methane molecules have a short life span. This means that the recent discovery of larger quantities of methane gas means current release processes. According to NASA, the methane that has been found on Mars is being produced now as the gas is broken down by sunlight within 300 years from its origin. This refers to the fact that the findings of water on Mars combined with the finding of methane gas leaves open the possibility of some type of underground life form in the past or present of Mars.

The findings of methane show evidence of some sort of biology below the Martian surface, according to Michael Mumma, who is the director of the Center for Astrobiology at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, also lead of the methane study recently published in the Science journal. Because of the current methane find, most NASA scientists feel that it is strong evidence for current Martian life.

The methane plumes which may show the presence of organisms have been observed by orbiting spacecraft and giant telescopes on Earth, with the latest NASA studies confirming Europe's Mars Express probe regarding their findings in 2004 of methane on Mars. What is striking is that 90% of the methane on Earth is located under the soil by living organisms, making life under the surface of Mars probable due to the amount of methane found in its atmosphere. No active volcanoes are on Mars, yet the only two areas where methane comes from on Earth are volcanoes and from being pumped into the air by life forms---meaning that the Red Planet is alive somehow and somewhere. Unfortunately, NASA's probe going to Mars in 2011 will be poorly equipped to study the methane gas, but in 2017 Europe's ExoMars robotic mission will be better equipped to deal with the methane question.