Search for Organic and Volatile Inorganic Compounds in Two Surface Samples from the Chryse Planitia Region of Mars
- 1 October 1976
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 194 (4260) , 72-76
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.194.4260.72
Abstract
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.This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
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