LIFE ON MARS
Ammonia may have been found in Mars' atmosphere which some scientists say could indicate life on the Red Planet.
Researchers say its spectral signature has been tentatively detected by sensors on board the European Space Agency's orbiting Mars Express craft.
Ammonia survives for only a short time in the Martian atmosphere so if it really does exist it must be getting constantly replenished.
There are two possible sources: either active volcanoes, none of which have been found yet on Mars, or microbes.
(el - Scientists investigating also have privately indicated finding other chemical markers. "Dr. Formisano also hinted on Dreamland that formaldehyde and benzine molecules have been detected. If he confirms this, the conclusion would be inescapable: there is life on Mars.)
The tentative detection of ammonia comes just a few months after methane was found in the Martian atmosphere. Methane is another gas with a possible biological origin.
The importance of ammonia is that it is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.
Nitrogen is rare in the Martian environment but because no form of terrestrial life can exist without it, the presence of ammonia may indicate that Martian microbial life is hoarding it.
"There are no known ways for ammonia to be present in the Martian atmosphere that do not involve life," the Nasa scientist said.
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