Life on Mars (a.k.a. Mount Sharp), on August 6, 2012. On 16 December 2014, NASA reported the "Curiosity" rover detected a "tenfold spike", likely localized, in the amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Sample measurements taken "a dozen times over 20 months" showed increases in late 2013 and early 2014, averaging "7 parts of methane per billion in the atmosphere." Before and after that, readings averaged around one-tenth that level. In addition, low levels of chlorobenzene (), were detected in powder drilled from one of the rocks, named "Cumberland", analyzed by the Curiosity rover. Some of the main reasons for colonizing Mars
Spirit (rover) soil. This was not the first of the mission's "embedding events" and for the following eight months NASA carefully analyzed the situation, running Earth-based theoretical and practical simulations, and finally programming the rover to make extrication drives in an attempt to free itself. These efforts continued until January 26, 2010 when NASA officials announced that the rover was likely irrecoverably obstructed by its location in soft soil, though it continued to perform scientific research from its current location. The rover continued in a stationary science platform role until communication with "Spirit" stopped on March 22, 2010 (sol ). JPL continued