Researchers have now been able to show that methane escapes from a meteorite if it is irradiated with ultraviolet light under Martian conditions.

New research suggests meteorites may be the culprit behind how methane became present in the atmosphere of Mars.

NASA said it has received 400 mission concepts from scientists and engineers for a future Mars mission. Scientists and engineers submitted their ideas to the Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration Workshop in Houston.

Carbon, a building block for creating life, has been detected in a Martian meteorite that landed on Earth, according to a Carnegie Institution for Science study.

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA-funded research on Mars meteorites that landed on Earth shows strong evidence that very large molecules containing carbon, which is a