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1.
The following problems related to the origin of methane on Mars have been considered. (1) Laboratory simulations of the impact phenomena confirm effective heterogeneous chemistry between the products of the fireball. This chemistry lowers the fireball freezing temperature from 2000 to 750 K for methane and to 1100 K for CO/CO2. Production of methane on Mars by cometary impacts is 0.8% of the total production. A probability that the observed methane on Mars came from impact of a single comet is 0.0011. (2) The PFS observations of variations of methane on Mars require a very effective heterogeneous loss of methane. Heterogeneous effect of dust is half that of the surface rocks. Thermochemical equilibrium requires production, not loss, of methane. Existing kinetic data show a very low efficiency of heterogeneous reactions of methane. Highly reactive superoxide ions generated by the solar UV photons on the martian rocks cannot remove methane. The required efficiency of heterogeneous loss of methane on Mars is higher than that on Earth by a factor of ?1000, although the expected efficiency on Earth is stronger than that on Mars because of the liquid ocean and the abundant oxygen. All these inconsistencies may be removed if variations of the rock reflectivity contribute to the PFS observations of methane on Mars. The PFS data on H2CO, HCl, HF, and HBr also raise doubts. (3) Although geologic sources of methane are possible, the lack of current volcanism, hydrothermal activity, hot spots, and very low seepage of gases from the interior are not favorable for geologic methane. Any proposed geological source of methane on Mars should address these problems. Some weak points in the suggested geologic sources are discussed. (4) Measurements of 13C/12C and D/H in methane would be difficult because of the low methane abundance. These ratios are mostly sensitive to a temperature of methane formation and cannot distinguish between biogenic and low-temperature geologic sources. Their analysis requires the carbon isotope ratio in CO2 on Mars, which is known with the insufficient accuracy, and D/H in water, which is different in the atmosphere, polar caps, regolith and interior. Therefore, the stable isotope ratios may not give a unique answer on the origin of methane. (5) Ethane and propane react with OH much faster than methane. If their production relative to methane is similar to that on Earth, then their expected abundances on Mars are of a few parts per trillion. (6) Loss of SO2 in the reaction with peroxide on ice is smaller than its gas-phase loss by an order of magnitude. The overall results strengthen the biogenic origin of martian methane and its low variability.  相似文献   

2.
Photochemical Chapman theory predicts that the square of peak electron density, Nm, in the dayside ionosphere of Mars is proportional to the cosine of solar zenith angle. We use Mars Global Surveyor Radio Science profiles of electron density to demonstrate that this relationship is generally satisfied and that positive or negative residuals between observed and predicted values of are caused by periods of relatively high or low solar flux, respectively.Understanding the response of the martian ionosphere to changes in solar flux requires simultaneous observations of the martian ionosphere and of solar flux at Mars, but solar flux measurements are only available at Earth. Since the Sun's output varies both in time and with solar latitude and longitude, solar flux at Mars is not simply related to solar flux at Earth by an inverse-square law. We hypothesize that, when corrected for differing distances from the Sun, solar fluxes at Mars and Earth are identical when shifted in time by the interval necessary for the Sun to rotate through the Earth–Sun–Mars angle.We perform four case studies that quantitatively compare time series of Nm at Mars to time series of solar flux at Earth and find that our hypothesis is satisfied in the three of them that used ionospheric data from the northern hemisphere. We define a solar flux proxy at Mars based upon the E10.7 proxy for solar flux at Earth and use our best case study to derive an equation that relates Nm to this proxy. We discuss how the ionosphere of Mars can be used to infer the presence of solar active regions not facing the Earth.Our fourth case study uses ionospheric observations from the southern hemisphere at latitudes where there are strong crustal magnetic anomalies. These profiles do not have Chapman-like shapes, unlike those of the other three case studies. We split this set of measurements into two subsets, corresponding to whether or not they were made at longitudes with strong crustal magnetic anomalies. Neither subset shows Nm responding to changes in solar flux in the manner that we observe in the three other case studies.We find many similarities in ionospheric responses to short-term and long-term changes in solar flux for Venus, Earth, and Mars. We consider the implications of our results for different parametric equations that have been published describing this response.  相似文献   

3.
We studied 14 presolar SiC mainstream grains for C‐, Si‐, and S‐isotopic compositions and S elemental abundances. Ten grains have low levels of S contamination and CI chondrite‐normalized S/Si ratios between 2 × 10?5 and 2 × 10?4. All grains have S‐isotopic compositions compatible within 2σ of solar values. Their mean S isotope composition deviates from solar by at most a few percent, and is consistent with values observed for the carbon star IRC+10216, believed to be a representative source star of the grains, and the interstellar medium. The isotopic data are also consistent with stellar model predictions of low‐mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. In a δ33S versus δ34S plot the data fit along a line with a slope of 1.8 ± 0.7, suggesting imprints from galactic chemical evolution. The observed S abundances are lower than expected from equilibrium condensation of CaS in solid solution with SiC under pressure and temperature conditions inferred from the abundances of more refractory elements in SiC. Calcium to S abundance ratios are generally above unity, contrary to expectations for stoichiometric CaS solution in the grains, possibly due to condensation of CaC2 into SiC. We observed a correlation between Mg and S abundances suggesting solid solution of MgS in SiC. The low abundances of S in mainstream grains support the view that the significantly higher abundances of excess 32S found in some Type AB SiC grains are the result of in situ decay of radioactive 32Si from born‐again AGB stars that condensed into AB grains.  相似文献   

4.
The isotopic composition of carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere from the measurements of Mars Science Laboratory have been used to estimate the relative abundances of CO2 isotopologues in the Martian atmosphere. Concurrently, this study has revealed long-standing errors in the amounts of some of low-abundance CO2 isotopologues in the Earth’s atmosphere in the databases of spectroscopic parameters of gases (HITRAN, etc.).  相似文献   

5.
Abstract— Pyroxene structural data, along with analyses of titanomagnetite, fayalite and mesostasis of the new nakhlite Miller Range (MIL) 03346, define equilibration near 1 bar, 1100 °C, and oxygen fugacity near the FMQ buffer. There is a clear progression of oxygen fugacity (fO2) in Martian meteorites from reduced Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 to intermediate shergottites to oxidized nakhlites. This trend can be explained by polybaric graphite‐CO‐CO2 equilibria in the Martian mantle. Shergottites would have formed at pressures between 1.2 and 3.0 GPa, and nakhlite parent liquids formed at pressures >3.0 GPa, consistent with geochemical and petrologic data for the shergottites and nahklites. Carbon buffering in the Martian mantle could be responsible for variation in fO2 in Martian meteorites (rather than assimilation or crustal interaction), as well as C‐H‐O fluids that could be the source of ˜30 ppb CH4 detected by recent spacecraft missions. The conundrum of an oxidized current mantle and basalts, but reduced early mantle during core‐mantle equilibrium exists for both the Earth and Mars. A polybaric buffering role for graphite can explain this discrepancy for Mars, and thus it may not be necessary to have an oxidation mechanism like the dissociation of MgFe‐perovskite to account for the oxidized terrestrial mantle.  相似文献   

6.
The presence and compositions of atmospheres on the terrestrial planets do not follow directly from condensation models which would have Earth accreting near 500°K. No single mechanism yet proposed adequately accounts for the abundances of noble gases and carbon and nitrogen in the atmospheres. We show that the composition of clathrates forming at low temperatures in cold regions of the nebula can be predicted. Addition of about 1 ppm clathrate material to the Earth can explain observed abundances of Ar, Kr, and Xe. Condensation and adsorption processes occuring at 400–500°K are necessary to explain the observed abundances of Ne, H2O, C, and N. Possible sources of clathrates could be cometary bodies formed in the outer solar system.  相似文献   

7.
Abstract— We performed in situ morphological and isotopic studies of graphite in the primitive chondrites Khohar (L3), Mezö‐Madaras (L3), Inman (L3), Grady (H3), Acfer 182 (CH3), Acfer 207 (CH3), Acfer 214 (CH3), and St. Marks (EH5). Various graphite morphologies were identified, including book, veins, fibrous, fine‐grained, spherulitic, and granular graphite, and cliftonite. SIMS measurements of H, C, N, and O isotopic compositions of the graphites revealed large variations in the isotopic ratios of these four elements. The δ15N and δ13C values show significant variations among the different graphite types without displaying any strict correlation between the isotopic composition and morphology. In the Khohar vein graphites, large 15N excesses are found, with δ15Nmax ～+955‰, confirming previous results. Excesses in 15N are also detected in fine‐grained graphites in chondrites of the CH clan, Acfer 182, Acfer 207, and Acfer 214, with δ15N ranging up to +440‰. The 15N excesses are attributed to ion‐molecule reactions at low temperatures in the interstellar molecular cloud (IMC) from which the solar system formed, though the largest excesses seem to be incompatible with the results of some recent calculation. Significant variations in the carbon isotopic ratios are detected between graphite from different chondrite groups, with a tendency for a systematic increase in δ13C from ordinary to enstatite to carbonaceous chondrites. These variations are interpreted as being due to small‐ and large‐scale carbon isotopic variations in the solar nebula.  相似文献   

8.
The radiogenic and primordial noble gas content of the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars are compared with one another and with the noble gas content of other extraterrestial samples, especially meteorites. The fourfold depletion of 40Ar for Venus relative to the Earth is attributed to the outgassing rates and associated tectonics and volcanic styles for the two planets diverging significantly within the first billion or so years of their history, with the outgassing rate for Venus becoming much less than that for the Earth at subsequent times. This early divergence in the tectonic style of the two planets may be due to a corresponding early onset of the runaway greenhouse on Venus. The 16-fold depletion of 40Ar for Mars relative to the Earth may be due to a combination of a mild K depletion for Mars, a smaller fraction of its interior being outgassed, and to an early reduction in its outgassing rate. Venus has lost virtually all of its primordial He and some of its radiogenic He. The escape flux of He may have been quite substantial in Venus' early history, but much diminished at later times, with this time variation being perhaps strongly influenced by massive losses of H2 resulting from efficient H2O loss processes.Key trends in the primordial noble gas content of terrestial planetary atmospheres include (1) a several orders of magnitude decrease in 20Ne and 36Ar from Venus to Earth to Mars; (2) a nearly constant 20Ne/36Ar ratio which is comparable to that found in the more primitive carbonaceous chondrites and which is two orders of magnitude smaller than the solar ratio; (3) a sizable fractionation of Ar, Kr, and Xe from their solar ratios, although the degree of fractionation, especially for 36Ar/132Xe, seems to decrease systematically from carbonaceous chondrites to Mars to Earth to Venus; and (4) large differences in Ne and Xe isotopic ratios among Earth, meteorites, and the Sun. Explaining trends (2), (2) and (4), and (1) pose the biggest problems for the solar-wind implantation, primitive atmosphere, and late veneer hypotheses, respectively. It is suggested that the grain-accretion hypothesis can explain all four trends, although the assumptions needed to achieve this agreement are far from proven. In particular, trends (1), (2), (3), and (4) are attributed to large pressure but small temperature differences in various regions of the inner solar system at the times of noble gas incorporation by host phases; similar proportions of the host phases that incorporated most of the He and Ne on the one hand (X) and Ar, Kr, and Xe on the other hand (Q); a decrease in the degree of fractionation with increasing noble-gas partial pressure; and the presence of interstellar carriers containing isotopically anomalous noble gases.Our analysis also suggests that primordial noble gases were incorporated throughout the interior of the outer terrestial planets, i.e., homogeneous accretion is favored over inhomogeneous accretion. In accord with meteorite data, we propose that carbonaceous materials were key hosts for the primordial noble gases incorporated into planets and that they provided a major source of the planets' CO2 and N2.  相似文献   

9.
Understanding the origin of Martian methane will require numerous complementary measurements from both in situ and remote sensing investigations and laboratory work to correlate planetary surface geophysics with atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Three instruments (Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS), Gas Chromatograph (GC) and Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS)) with sophisticated sample handling and processing capability make up the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) analytical chemistry suite on NASA’s 2011 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission. Leveraging off the SAM sample and gas processing capability that includes methane enrichment, TLS has unprecedented sensitivity for measuring absolute methane (parts-per-trillion), water, and carbon dioxide abundances in both the Martian atmosphere and evolved from heated soil samples. In concert with a wide variety of associated trace gases (e.g. SO2, H2S, NH3, higher hydrocarbons, organics, etc.) and other isotope ratios measured by SAM, TLS will focus on determining the absolute abundances of methane, water and carbon dioxide, and their isotope ratios: 13C/12C and D/H in methane; 13C/12C and 18O/17O/16O in carbon dioxide; and 18O/17O/16O and D/H in water. Measurements near the MSL landing site will be correlated with satellite (Mars Express, Mars 2016) and ground-based observations.  相似文献   

10.
The early part of the article traces the implications on planetary cores of various revisions of the writer's original Earth modelsA andB. Recent evidence indicates that it is appropriate to consider at most two-layer cores in the terrestrial planets. Current evidence on equations of state for cores is presented. The later part of the article puts forward a proposal which, though quite distinct from the mantle-core phase transition proposal of some twenty years ago, retains the assumption that the pressurepc at the Earth's mantle-core boundaryN is a critical pressure crucially involved in the changes atN. The proposal envisages an outer core of Fe2O which is unstable at pressures less thanpc. In the form set down, the proposal restores the agreement of the Earth, Mars and Venus with a common overall composition and meets various revisions of earlier planetary and other observational data. Although the calculations so far made are only preliminary, the agreement appears to be very striking. While still requiring the present Mercury to be significantly different from the primitive Mercury, the Fe2O has an advantage over the phase transition proposal in providing for a larger iron core. Brief comments are made on the Moon.Paper dedicated to Professor Harold C. Urey on the occasion of his 80th birthday on 29 April 1973.  相似文献   

11.
We used chemical equilibrium calculations to model thermal outgassing of ordinary chondritic material as a function of temperature, pressure, and bulk composition and use our results to discuss outgassing on asteroids and the early Earth. The calculations include ∼1000 solids and gases of the elements Al, C, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, F, Fe, H, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, Ni, O, P, S, Si, and Ti. The major outgassed volatiles from ordinary chondritic material are CH4, H2, H2O, N2, and NH3 (the latter at conditions where hydrous minerals form). Contrary to widely held assumptions, CO is never the major C-bearing gas during ordinary chondrite metamorphism. The calculated oxygen fugacity (partial pressure) of ordinary chondritic material is close to that of the quartz-fayalite-iron (QFI) buffer. Our results are insensitive to variable total pressure, variable volatile element abundances, and kinetic inhibition of C and N dissolution in Fe metal. Our results predict that Earth's early atmosphere contained CH4, H2, H2O, N2, and NH3; similar to that used in Miller—Urey synthesis of organic compounds.  相似文献   

12.
James L. Gooding 《Icarus》1978,33(3):483-513
Chemical weathering on Mars is examined theoretically from the standpoint of heterogeneous equilibrium between solid mineral phases and gaseous O2, H2O, and CO2 in the Martian atmosphere. Thermochemical calculations are performed in order to identify important gas-solid decomposition reactions involving the major mineral constituents of mafic igneous rocks. Where unavailable in the thermochemical literature, Gibbs free energy and enthalpy of formation are estimated for certain minerals and details of these estimation procedures are given. Partial pressure stability diagrams are presented to show pertinent mineral reaction boundaries at 298 and at 240°K. In the present Martian environment, the thermodynamically stable products of gas-solid weathering of individual minerals at 240°K should be Fe2O3, as hematite or maghemite (from fayalite, magnetite, and Fe-bearing pyroxenes), quartz (from all silicates), calcite (from Ca-bearing pyroxenes and plagioclase), magnesite (from forsterite and Mg-bearing pyroxenes), corundum (from all Al-bearing silicates), Ca-beidellite (from anorthite), and szomolnokite, FeSO4 or FeSO4·H2O (from iron sulfides). Albite, microcline, and apatite should be stable with respect to gas-solid decomposition, suggesting that gas-solid weathering products on Mars may be depleted in Na, K, and P (and, possibly, Cl and F). Certain montmorillonite-type clay minerals are thermodynamically favorable intermediate gas-solid decomposition products of Al-bearing pyroxenes and may be metastable intermediate products of special mineral surface reaction mechanisms. However, the predicted high thermodynamic susceptibility of these clay minerals to subsequent gas-solid decomposition implies that they should ultimately decompose in the present Martian surface environment. Kaolinite is apparently the only clay mineral which should be thermodynamically stable over all ranges of temperature and water vapor abundance in the present environment at the Martian surface. Considering thermodynamic criteria, including possible gas-solid decomposition reactions, it is doubtful that significant amounts of goethite and clay minerals can be currently forming on Mars by mechanisms known to operate to Earth. If major amounts of goethite and clay minerals occur on Mars, they probably owe their existence to formation in an environment characterized by the presence of liquid water or by mechanism possibly unique to Mars. In any case, any goethite or montmorillonite-type clay mineral on Mars must ultimately decompose.  相似文献   

13.
A thermodynamical analysis of the multicomponent system SiTiAlFeMnMgCaNaKPCHO open with respect to CO2, CO, H2O was carried out. Hydration and carbonatization processes are proposed to be geochemical consequences of the hypothesis of quasi-equilibrium conditions between the troposphere and crustal surface rocks. The probable rock-forming hydrated mineral phases are represented by epidote, glaucophane, tremolite, phlogopite, and annite; the carbonatization results in existence of calcite and dolomite as rock-forming minerals of weathered alkaline lavas. The surface rocks are assumed to have high ferric/ferrous iron ratios. The wollastonite equilibrium is rejected as a buffering chemical reaction. Hydrated minerals could be stable at least up to 5-km depths and contribute about 0.1 × 1024 g of H2O whereas about (0.7–0.8) × 1024 g of H2O would be consumed in ferrous iron oxidation with concomitant hydrogen dissipation. The distribution of H2O in the outer planetary shells is possibly a function of their temperatures.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract— Carbon stars are an important source of presolar TiC, SiC, and graphite grains found in meteorites. The elemental abundances in the stellar sources of the SiC grains are inferred by using condensation calculations. These elemental abundances, together with C isotopic compositions, are used to identify possible groups of carbon stars that may have contributed SiC grains to the presolar dust cloud. The most likely parent stars of meteoritic SiC mainstream grains are N-type carbon stars and evolved subgiant CH stars. Both have s-process element abundances higher than solar and 10 < 12C/13C < 100 ratios. The J stars and giant CH stars, with solar and greater than solar abundances of s-process elements, respectively, are good candidate parents for the ‘A’ and ‘B’ SiC grains with low 12C/13C ratios. A special subgroup of CH giant stars with very large 12C/13C ratios could have parented the ‘Y’ SiC grains with 12C/13C ratios > 100. The carbon star population (e.g., N, R, J, CH groups) needed to provide the observed SiC grains is compared to the current population of carbon stars. This comparison suggests that low-metallicity CH stars may have been more abundant in the past (>4.5 Ga ago) than at present. This suggestion is also supported by condensation-chemistry modeling of the trace element patterns in the SiC grains that shows that subsolar Fe abundances may be required in the stellar sources for many SiC grains. The results of this study suggest that presolar SiC grains in meteorites can provide information about carbon stars during galactic evolution.  相似文献   

15.
Volatile elements play a key role in the dynamics of planetary evolution. Extensive work has been carried out to determine the abundance, distribution, and source(s) of volatiles in planetary bodies such as the Earth, Moon, and Mars. A recent study showed that the water in apatite from eucrites has similar hydrogen isotopic compositions compared to water in terrestrial rocks and carbonaceous chondrites, suggesting that water accreted very early in the inner solar system given the ancient crystallization ages (~4.5 Ga) of eucrites. Here, the measurements of water (reported as equivalent H2O abundances) and the hydrogen isotopic composition (δD) of apatite from five basaltic eucrites and one cumulate eucrite are reported. Apatite H2O abundances range from ~30 to ~3500 ppm and are associated with a weighted average δD value of ?34 ± 67‰. No systematic variations or correlations are observed in H2O abundance or δD value with eucrite geochemical trend or metamorphic grade. These results extend the range of previously published hydrogen isotope data for eucrites and confirm the striking homogeneity in the H‐isotopic composition of water in eucrites, which is consistent with a common source for water in the inner solar system.  相似文献   

16.
The Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA) on-board the Mars Express spacecraft (MEX) measured penetrating solar wind plasma and escaping/accelerated ionospheric plasma at very low altitudes (250 km) in the dayside subsolar region. This implies a direct exposure of the martian topside atmosphere to solar wind plasma forcing leading to energization of ionospheric plasma. The ion and electron energization and the ion outflow from Mars is surprisingly similar to that over the magnetized Earth. Narrow “monoenergetic” cold ion beams, ion beams with broad energy distributions, sharply peaked electron energy spectra, and bidirectional streaming electrons are particle features also observed near Mars. Energized martian ionospheric ions (O+, O+2, CO+2, etc.) flow in essentially the same direction as the external sheath flow. This suggests that the planetary ion energization couples directly to processes in the magnetosheath/solar wind. On the other hand, the beam-like distribution of the energized plasma implies more indirect energization processes like those near the Earth, i.e., energization in a magnetized environment by waves and/or parallel (to B) electric fields. The general conditions for martian plasma energization are, however, different from those in the Earth's magnetosphere. Mars has a weak intrinsic magnetic field and solar wind plasma may therefore penetrate deep into the dense ionospheric plasma. Local crustal magnetization, discovered by Acuña et al. [Acuña, M.J., Connerey, J., Ness, N., Lin, R., Mitchell, D., Carlsson, C., McFadden, J., Anderson, K., Rème, H., Mazelle, C., Vignes, D., Wasilewski, P., Cloutier, P., 1999. Science 284, 790-793], provide some dayside shielding against the solar wind. On the other hand, multiple magnetic anomalies may also lead to “hot spots” facilitating ionospheric plasma energization. We discuss the ASPERA-3 findings of martian ionospheric ion energization and present evidences for two types of plasma energization processes responsible for the low- and mid-altitude plasma energization near Mars: magnetic field-aligned acceleration by parallel electric fields and plasma energization by low frequency waves.  相似文献   

17.
J.T. Trauger  J.I. Lunine 《Icarus》1983,55(2):272-281
The abundances of molecular oxygen in the atmospheres of Venus and Mars are sensitive to fundamental photochemical processes. A new upper limit is reported for the molecular oxygen mixing ratio (O2/CO2 < × 10?7) in the integrated column above the visible cloud tops of Venus, based on spectroscopic observations carried out in early spring, 1982. During the same observing period, an O2 column abundance of 8.5 cm-am for the atmosphere of Mars was measured, slightly below the O2 abundances measured a decade earlier.  相似文献   

18.
Abstract— The relative abundances of the highly siderophile elements (HSE) Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Rh, and Pd in relatively pristine lherzolites differ from solar abundance ratios and are several orders of magnitude higher than predicted for equilibrium distribution between metal/silicate (core‐mantle). The samples are characterized by a mean Ca/Al ratio of 1.18 ± 0.09 σM and a mean Ca/Si ratio of 0.10 ± 0.01 σM, overlapping with a mean Ca/Al of 1.069 ± 0.044 σM and a mean Ca/Si of 0.081 ± 0.023 σM found in chondrites (Wasson and Kallemeyn 1988). Interestingly, the CI‐normalized abundance pattern shows decreasing solar system normalized abundances with increasing condensation temperatures. The abundance of the moderately volatile element Pd is about 2x higher than those in the most refractory siderophiles Ir and Os. Thus, the HSE systematics of upper mantle samples suggest that the late bombardment, which added these elements to the accreting Earth, more closely resembles materials of highly reduced EH or EL chondrites than carbonaceous chondrites. In fact, the HSE in the Earth mantle are even more fractionated than the enstatite chondrites—an indication that some inner solar system materials were more highly fractionated than the latter.  相似文献   

19.
Models of the solar nebula suggest that the mass of solid matter which condensed in the region of Mars and the asteroids was much greater than the amount now present. Bombardment by a primordial population of asteroidal bodies originating near Jupiter's orbit could preferentially remove matter from this region, without significant effects in the Earth's zone. A “critical velocity” exists, for which they can be ejected from the solar system by Jupiter. The minimum perihelion attainable at this velocity lies between the orbits of Mars and the Earth. The lifetimes of Mars-crossing bodies are limited by collisions with Jupiter; Earth-crossers are ejected on a much shorter time scale. The total bombardment flux was at least two orders of magnitude greater in the zone of Mars than in that of the Earth. The flux at Venus and Mercury from this source was negligible. The cratering rate for Mars may have differed greatly from those of the other terrestrial planets for a significant fraction of the age of the solar system.  相似文献   

20.
Processing of organic molecules by liquid water was probably an essential requirement towards the emergence of terrestrial primitive life. According to Oparin's hypothesis, organic building blocks required for early life were produced from simple organic molecules formed in a primitive reducing atmosphere. Geochemists favour now a less reducing atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide. In such an atmosphere, very few building blocks are formed. Import of extraterrestrial organic molecules may represent an alternative supply. Experimental support for such an alternative scenario is examined in comets, meteorites and micrometeorites. The early histories of Mars and Earth clearly show similarities. Liquid water was once stable on the surface of Mars attesting the presence of an atmosphere capable of decelerating C-rich micro-meteorites. Therefore, primitive life may have developed on Mars, as well. Liquid water disappeared from the surface of Mars very early, about 3.8 Ga ago. The Viking missions did not find, at the surface of the Martian soil, any organic molecules or clear-cut evidence for microbial activities such as photosynthesis, respiration or nutrition. The results can be explained referring to an active photochemistry of Martian soil driven by the high influx of solar UV. These experiments do not exclude the existence of organic molecules and fossils of micro-organisms which developed on early Mars until liquid water disappeared. Mars may store below its surface some well preserved clues of a still hypothetical primitive life.  相似文献   

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