The Degradation of Organic Compounds Under Mars Like Conditions

Details The Degradation of Organic Compounds Under Mars Like Conditions The Degradation of Organic Compounds Under Mars Like Conditions

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p11c0702h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P11C-0702

Physics

5405 Atmospheres (0343, 1060), 6225 Mars

Scientific paper

The Viking missions failed to detect organic compounds, of any origin, in the Martian regolith. The explanation for the lack of organics has centered on the presence of oxidants in the regolith and atmosphere. The interaction between UV light, the regolith and trace water is investigated here. In this study, organic compounds were mixed with JSC-1 Mars simulant and exposed in a Mars simulation chamber to study the effects of UV light and frost cycling on different compounds. Organic compounds studied ranged from polyaromatic hydrocarbons to alkanes with different functional groups. The Mars simulation chamber provides conditions that simulate the temperature, pressure, atmospheric composition and UV flux present on Mars. One day exposure in the simulation chamber provides about the same amount of UV exposure as three days on Mars. Samples were exposed under two sets of conditions for seven days: continuous exposure to UV at constant Mars temperatures and continuous exposure to UV with temperature cycling. The temperature cycling has the effect of generating a thin frost layer on the surface of the regolith. After exposure, the organic compounds were extracted from the JSC- 1 simulant and analyzed by GC/MS. Degradation of the organics was enhanced by the frost cycling and new compounds were identified in the samples exposed to frost cycling that were not present in the controls or in samples exposed at constant temperatures. These results will be compared to previous results of degradation due to glow discharge plasma, as may be present in Martian dust storms and devils.

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