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Science. 2013 Jul 19;341(6143):263-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1237966.

Abundance and isotopic composition of gases in the martian atmosphere from the Curiosity rover.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

Paul R Mahaffy, Christopher R Webster, Sushil K Atreya, Heather Franz, Michael Wong, Pamela G Conrad, Dan Harpold, John J Jones, Laurie A Leshin, Heidi Manning, Tobias Owen, Robert O Pepin, Steven Squyres, Melissa Trainer,

Affiliations

  1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. [email protected]

PMID: 23869014 DOI: 10.1126/science.1237966

Abstract

Volume mixing and isotope ratios secured with repeated atmospheric measurements taken with the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite on the Curiosity rover are: carbon dioxide (CO2), 0.960(±0.007); argon-40 ((40)Ar), 0.0193(±0.0001); nitrogen (N2), 0.0189(±0.0003); oxygen, 1.45(±0.09) × 10(-3); carbon monoxide, < 1.0 × 10(-3); and (40)Ar/(36)Ar, 1.9(±0.3) × 10(3). The (40)Ar/N2 ratio is 1.7 times greater and the (40)Ar/(36)Ar ratio 1.6 times lower than values reported by the Viking Lander mass spectrometer in 1976, whereas other values are generally consistent with Viking and remote sensing observations. The (40)Ar/(36)Ar ratio is consistent with martian meteoritic values, which provides additional strong support for a martian origin of these rocks. The isotopic signature δ(13)C from CO2 of ~45 per mil is independently measured with two instruments. This heavy isotope enrichment in carbon supports the hypothesis of substantial atmospheric loss.

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