# Viscardy 2025: Questioning the Reliability of Methane Detections on Mars by the Curiosity Rover

> Sébastien Viscardy, David C. Catling, Kevin Zahnle, 2025. 8 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The latest development; the instrumental-artefact…

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# Questioning the Reliability of Methane Detections on Mars by the Curiosity Rover

Sébastien Viscardy, David C. Catling, Kevin Zahnle, 2025. _Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 130(4), e2024JE008441_.

Re-analyses published TLS data. The foreoptics chamber held methane three to four orders of magnitude above the sample cell, with unexplained pressure changes; leaks of under 0.1 per cent of foreoptics methane could explain the atmospheric values and would be invisible in housekeeping data. Averaging the three R3-triplet lines as if independent likely underestimates uncertainties. Proposes a two-step test.

**Mars methane puzzle** Articledoi: **[10.1029/2024je008441](https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008441)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The latest development; the instrumental-artefact case.

## Cited by on this site 8 records

[The rover's methane readings are an instrumental artefact, chiefly methane leaking from the foreoptics…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/answers/ANS0D7EXZNC60BA/the-rovers-methane-readings-are-an-instrumental-artefact)

Answer

ANS

[The foreoptics chamber held methane three to four orders of magnitude above the sample cell; leaks under 0.1…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/evidence/EVD0D7EXZ5R0DK1/the-foreoptics-chamber-held-methane-three-to-four-orders-of)

Evidence

EVD

[Triplet-line discrepancies in five experiments have a probability of about 10⁻³ under the reported errors,…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/evidence/EVD0D7EXZDJ40GJ/triplet-line-discrepancies-in-five-experiments-have-a)

Evidence

EVD

[Unreported diffusion experiments give a gas-transport coefficient that makes small leaks plausible.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/evidence/EVD0D7EXZX64X5N/unreported-diffusion-experiments-give-a-gas-transport)

Evidence

EVD

[Viscardy, Catling and Zahnle question the rover detections](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/events/EVT0D7EXWFT1SAD/viscardy-catling-and-zahnle-question-the-rover-detections)

EVT

[Sébastien Viscardy](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/people/FIG0D7EXS2E0XQW/sebastien-viscardy)

FIG

[The Mars methane puzzle](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane)

The mystery article

MYS

[Is there methane in the air at Gale crater?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mars-methane/questions/QST0D7EXWQM6TWB/is-there-methane-in-the-air-at-gale-crater)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Viscardy, S., Catling, D. C., & Zahnle, K. (2025). Questioning the Reliability of Methane Detections on Mars by the Curiosity Rover. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 130(4), e2024JE008441. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008441
```

[Read it free at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008441)

Key

**SRC** 0D7EXPMA1QTG

Kind

Journal article

Rights

CC-BY-NC-4.0

Checked

Against the published article

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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