Plumes of methane gas found on Mars

"Mars is active," said Michael Meyer, head of NASA's Mars program. "Whether it's geology or biology, we don't yet know."

Active ? Very nice ! One day we will go to Mars , When though ? Who Knows ?

The L.A. Times

Scientists have discovered large plumes of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere, a key marker for biological processes on Earth but not convincing proof that rudimentary life-forms exist on Mars.

Scientists led by Michael Mumma of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland first detected the gas in 2003, using infrared spectrometers on three Earth-based telescopes, the team said Thursday. At its peak, the plumes contained about 19,000 metric tons of methane, a large amount comparable to the seep off Coal Oil Point near Santa Barbara.
The source of the methane is still a mystery, the scientists said in a briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington. But its existence proves that Mars is not the dead desert planet that many scientists thought it was.

....