Mass spectrometry in the exploration of Mars

✍ Scribed by Catherine Fenselau; Richard Caprioli; A. O. Nier; W. B. Hanson; A. Seiff; M. B. Mcelroy; N. W. Spencer; R. J. Duckett; T. C. D. Knight; W. S. Cook; K. Biemann; J. Oro; P. Toulmin III; L. E. Orgel; A. O. Nier; D. M. Anderson; P. G. Simmonds; D. Flory; A. V. Diaz; D. R. Rushneck; J. A. Biller; Tobias Owen; K. Biemann

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 323 KB
• Volume: 38
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1076-5174
• DOI: 10.1002/jms.396

✦ Synopsis

Two surface samples collected from the Chryse Planitia region of Mars were heated to temperatures up to 500 °C, and the volatiles that they evolved were analyzed with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Only water and carbon dioxide were detected. This implies that organic compounds have not accumulated to the extent that individual components could be detected at levels of a few parts in 10 9 by weight in our samples. Proposed mechanisms for the accumulation and destruction of organic compounds are discussed in the light of this limit.