Published September 15, 2000
| public
Journal Article
Evidence That the Reactivity of the Martian Soil Is Due to Superoxide Ions
Abstract
The Viking Landers were unable to detect evidence of life on Mars but, instead, found a chemically reactive soil capable of decomposing organic molecules. This reactivity was attributed to the presence of one or more as-yet-unidentified inorganic superoxides or peroxides in the martian soil. Using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, we show that superoxide radical ions (O_(2)–) form directly on Mars-analog mineral surfaces exposed to ultraviolet radiation under a simulated martian atmosphere. These oxygen radicals can explain the reactive nature of the soil and the apparent absence of organic material at the martian surface.
Additional Information
© 2000 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 5 May 2000; accepted 2 August 2000. This work was performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 44948
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.289.5486.1909
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140415-085909528
- Created
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2014-04-15Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field