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Scientists narrow down source of Martian methane

Mars Express
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter has been circling Mars since 2003. (Spacecraft image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab; Mars: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

It may sound like an April Fool’s joke about flatulent aliens, but this is serious: The scientists behind the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter think they know where a smelly outburst of Martian methane came from.

Any joke would fall flat, because the proposed explanation is purely geological rather than, um, biological.

The source of Martian methane has been a mystery for 15 years, thanks in part to earlier findings from Mars Express.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

By Alan Boyle

Mastermind of Cosmic Log, contributing editor at GeekWire, author of "The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference," president of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Check out "About Alan Boyle" for more fun facts.

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