So There’s Methane on Mars

That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s life — but it’s an exciting sign that it’s possible

A self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

For over a century, science fiction authors have imagined that humanities’ first contact with extraterrestrial life would come via intelligent humanoid aliens arriving on Earth in technologically advanced spaceships, likely in pursuit of interstellar conquest. If the…