The European satellite has found in a recent breakthrough discovery that Mars produces methane. If the consequences of this discovery are not clear to you, you are certainly not the only ones.

Scientists working with the European Space Agency's satellite, Mars, found methane on the planet, the New York Times. NASA's Curiosity Rover also recorded a two-month increase in methane production at the same site in the summer of 2013.

So what does it mean?

Despite the usual image of a lonely, mad scientist, science is a collective work. One of the most important aspects of the scientific method is replication - ensuring that someone can independently find out what you have already discovered. The finding of methane may not be so much a fundamental discovery for a rover or satellite, but for both of them it is.

Marco Giuranna, a scientist from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics wrote:

"Our discovery is the first independent confirmation of methane detection."

Dr. Giuranna is a senior researcher at Mars Express who has conducted these measurements. The question that naturally results from demonstrating the presence of methane on Mars is what caused it. According to this report, methane molecules have not been sustained for an indefinite period of time;

The findings also point to a possible source of methane, some 300 kilometers away from Gale Crater, which could now be a tempting landing site for NASA's 2020 rover. Another speculation is that the source of methane is more biological than geological. One ordinary cow produces 70 to 120 kg methane each year. A biological source of methane could support conspiracy theories about life on Mars.

At present, no one dares to confirm that there is life on Mars. But a recent discovery shows that this theory is far from unreliable.