In its ongoing two-year mission to explore Mars for
evidence that the planet might once have harbored life, the rover Curiosity has
paused to take a deep sniff of the Martian atmosphere, which is 100 times
thinner than Earth’s.
The first complete air analysis at the Gale Crater
suggest that a fraction of the Martian atmosphere has been lost over billions
of years through a physical process that favors retention of heavier isotopes
of carbon dioxide gas. The loss of a lighter form of carbon dioxide might
have played a significant role in the evolution of the planet, NASA scientists
say.
Curiosity's "Sample Analysis at Mars" or
SAM instrument package made the most sensitive measurements so far in a search
for methane, which could indicate conditions favorable for microbial
life. Methane is difficult to detect from Earth or the current generation
of Mars orbiters because the gas exists on Mars only in traces, if at all, says
Chris Webster of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "At this point in
the mission," Webster says,"we’re just excited about searching for
it."
Webster added that atmospheric variability in the
Martian atmosphere could hold some surprises.
The mission, now in its third month, is set to
analyze its first solid soil sample, beginning an ambitious two-year search for
organic compounds in the rocks and soils of Gale Crater as well as more
atmospheric samples.
According to principal investigator Paul Mahaffy of
NASA’s Goddard’s Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, "both
atmospheric and solid sample analyses are crucial for understanding Mars’
habitability."
Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/mars-curiosity-rover-atmosphere/1538495.html
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