Hasta La Gadget!

Scientists have discovered methane in Mars’ atmosphere using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and the W.M. Keck telescope—both in Mauna Kea, Hawaii—raising the possibility that life may have existed on the red planet, according to CNN.

No one is sure how long it’s been there, but NASA officials and scientists said that the methane could have come from subsurface microorganisms, geological activity, or even comets that struck the planet in the past.

“It’s time, it’s prudent that we begin to explore Mars looking for the possibility of a life form that’s exhaling methane,” said Lisa Pratt, professor of geological sciences at Indiana University, at a NASA news briefing Thursday.

NASA’s latest Mars mission, the Phoenix Mars Lander, recently came to an end after successfully verifying the presence of water-ice in the Martian subsurface, discovering small amounts of salts that could be nutrients for life, and seeing snow falling from clouds, according to the report. Recently, NASA celebrated its 50th anniversary.