NASA scientists have discovered surprisingly high amounts of methane gas on Mars that could indicate life on the Red Planet.
The space agency’s Curiosity rover made the discovery on Wednesday, according to the New York Times.
In an email obtained by the paper, project scientist for the mission Ashwin R Vasavada said “given this surprising result” a “follow-up experiment” had been organised.
Although the gas can be generated by geological processes much of it is released by micro-organisms known as methanogens, some of which live in the guts of certain mammals.
However Thomas Zurbuchen, of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, advised caution over the discovery.
He tweeted: "While increased methane levels measured by Mars Curiosity are exciting, as possible indicators for life, it's important to remember this is an early science result.
"To maintain scientific integrity, the science team will continue to analyse the data before confirming results."
It has been suggested that methane previously detected on the planet could simply be ancient gas that is now bursting through the cracks on the surface.
The latest measurement found 21 parts per billion of methane in the air, three times what was found during a 2013 measurement.
In a statement on Saturday afternoon, NASA described the methane detection as an “early science result”.
A spokesman added: “To maintain scientific integrity, the project science team will continue to analyse the data before confirming results.”
The results of this weekend's follow-up experiment are expected to be sent back to Earth on Monday.
