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Zhang B, Zhang X. Prediction of the electron kinetics relevant for CO2 splitting using in situ propellant production technology: Effect of the gas composition. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 2020; 128. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0015138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Electron kinetics plays an essential role in CO2 splitting in non-equilibrium plasmas. Indigenous resources, particularly CO2 rich in the Martian atmosphere, are utilized as the feedstock for the technology of in situ propellant production (ISPP) in Mars missions. To obtain electron kinetics including electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and transport coefficients, a Boltzmann analysis is adopted. In view of ISPP in the upper Martian atmosphere, the complicated variation of the gas composition with the altitude in both dayside and nightside is considered. The composition of gas mixture is derived from the previous measurement data through site survey and numerical models. According to the results of calculation, altitude affects the behavior of EEDFs and transport coefficients in both dayside and nightside. The rapid drop in CO2 content and the rise in O content with altitude lead to a broader EEDF. The reduction of the critical breakdown electric field strength with the increasing altitude is ascribed to the combined effects of the decline of the attachment coefficient and enhancement of the ionization coefficient. The electron energy loss mechanism is presented for the analysis of energy efficiency. At low mean electron energy, electron energy is mostly transferred to vibrational levels of CO2. With the increasing electron energy, more energy-demanding processes, like ionization and electronic excitation, become essential pathways of energy loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhang
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology , Nanjing 210094, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaobing Zhang
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology , Nanjing 210094, People’s Republic of China
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Macey MC, Fox-Powell M, Ramkissoon NK, Stephens BP, Barton T, Schwenzer SP, Pearson VK, Cousins CR, Olsson-Francis K. The identification of sulfide oxidation as a potential metabolism driving primary production on late Noachian Mars. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10941. [PMID: 32616785 PMCID: PMC7331718 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67815-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The transition of the martian climate from the wet Noachian era to the dry Hesperian (4.1-3.0 Gya) likely resulted in saline surface waters that were rich in sulfur species. Terrestrial analogue environments that possess a similar chemistry to these proposed waters can be used to develop an understanding of the diversity of microorganisms that could have persisted on Mars under such conditions. Here, we report on the chemistry and microbial community of the highly reducing sediment of Colour Peak springs, a sulfidic and saline spring system located within the Canadian High Arctic. DNA and cDNA 16S rRNA gene profiling demonstrated that the microbial community was dominated by sulfur oxidising bacteria, suggesting that primary production in the sediment was driven by chemolithoautotrophic sulfur oxidation. It is possible that the sulfur oxidising bacteria also supported the persistence of the additional taxa. Gibbs energy values calculated for the brines, based on the chemistry of Gale crater, suggested that the oxidation of reduced sulfur species was an energetically viable metabolism for life on early Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Macey
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
| | - M Fox-Powell
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, Irvine Building, St Andrews, UK
| | - N K Ramkissoon
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - B P Stephens
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - T Barton
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - S P Schwenzer
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - V K Pearson
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - C R Cousins
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, Irvine Building, St Andrews, UK
| | - K Olsson-Francis
- AstrobiologyOU, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
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Nier AO, McElroy MB. Composition and structure of Mars' Upper atmosphere: Results from the neutral mass spectrometers on Viking 1 and 2. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/js082i028p04341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 412] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Fjeldbo G, Sweetnam D, Brenkle J, Christensen E, Farless D, Mehta J, Seidel B, Michael W, Wallio A, Grossi M. Viking radio occultation measurements of the Martian atmosphere and topography: Primary mission coverage. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/js082i028p04317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Oyama VI, Berdahl BJ. The Viking Gas Exchange Experiment results from Chryse and Utopia surface samples. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/js082i028p04669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 183] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Hanson WB, Sanatani S, Zuccaro DR. The Martian ionosphere as observed by the Viking retarding potential analyzers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/js082i028p04351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 438] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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McElroy MB, Kong TY, Yung YL. Photochemistry and evolution of Mars' atmosphere: A Viking perspective. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/js082i028p04379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 224] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Strobel DF, Shemansky DE. EUV emission from Titan's upper atmosphere: Voyager 1 encounter. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/ja087ia03p01361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Terada N, Kulikov YN, Lammer H, Lichtenegger HIM, Tanaka T, Shinagawa H, Zhang T. Atmosphere and water loss from early Mars under extreme solar wind and extreme ultraviolet conditions. ASTROBIOLOGY 2009; 9:55-70. [PMID: 19216683 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2008.0250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The upper limits of the ion pickup and cold ion outflow loss rates from the early martian atmosphere shortly after the Sun arrived at the Zero-Age-Main-Sequence (ZAMS) were investigated. We applied a comprehensive 3-D multi-species magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model to an early martian CO(2)-rich atmosphere, which was assumed to have been exposed to a solar XUV [X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (EUV)] flux that was 100 times higher than today and a solar wind that was about 300 times denser. We also assumed the late onset of a planetary magnetic dynamo, so that Mars had no strong intrinsic magnetic field at that early period. We found that, due to such extreme solar wind-atmosphere interaction, a strong magnetic field of about approximately 4000 nT was induced in the entire dayside ionosphere, which could efficiently protect the upper atmosphere from sputtering loss. A planetary obstacle ( approximately ionopause) was formed at an altitude of about 1000 km above the surface due to the drag force and the mass loading by newly created ions in the highly extended upper atmosphere. We obtained an O(+) loss rate by the ion pickup process, which takes place above the ionopause, of about 1.5 x 10(28) ions/s during the first < or =150 million years, which is about 10(4) times greater than today and corresponds to a water loss equivalent to a global martian ocean with a depth of approximately 8 m. Consequently, even if the magnetic protection due to the expected early martian magnetic dynamo is neglected, ion pickup and sputtering were most likely not the dominant loss processes for the planet's initial atmosphere and water inventory. However, it appears that the cold ion outflow into the martian tail, due to the transfer of momentum from the solar wind to the ionospheric plasma, could have removed a global ocean with a depth of 10-70 m during the first < or =150 million years after the Sun arrived at the ZAMS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoki Terada
- National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
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Fox JL. CO2+dissociative recombination: A source of thermal and nonthermal C on Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004. [DOI: 10.1029/2004ja010514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Fox JL. Response of the Martian thermosphere/ionosphere to enhanced fluxes of solar soft X rays. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004. [DOI: 10.1029/2004ja010380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Bogard DD, Clayton RN, Marti K, Owen T, Turner G. Martian Volatiles: Isotopic Composition, Origin, and Evolution. SPACE SCIENCES SERIES OF ISSI 2001. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-1035-0_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Moreau D, Esposito LW, Brasseur G. The chemical composition of the dust-free Martian atmosphere: Preliminary results of a two-dimensional model. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1029/90jb02544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Rodrigo R, García-Álvarez E, López-González MJ, López-Moreno JJ. A nonsteady one-dimensional theoretical model of Mars' neutral atmospheric composition between 30 and 200 km. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1990. [DOI: 10.1029/jb095ib09p14795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Yung YL, Wen JS, Pinto JP, Allen M, Pierce KK, Paulson S. HDO in the Martian atmosphere: implications for the abundance of crustal water. ICARUS 1988; 76:146-159. [PMID: 11538666 DOI: 10.1016/0019-1035(88)90147-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The physical and chemical processes that lead to the preferential escape of hydrogen over deuterium in the Martian atmosphere are studied in detail using a one-dimensional photochemical model. Comparison of our theory with recent observations of HDO suggests that, averaged over the planet, Mars contains 0.2 m of crustal water that is exchangeable with the atmosphere. Our estimate is considerably lower than recent estimates of subsurface water on Mars based on geomorphological analysis of Viking images. The estimate can be reconciled if only a small fraction of crustal water can exchange with the atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y L Yung
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125, USA
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Evans LG, Squyres SW. Investigation of Martian H2O and Co2via orbital gamma ray spectroscopy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1987. [DOI: 10.1029/jb092ib09p09153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Zipf E, Espy P, Boyle C. The excitation and collisional deactivation of metastable N(²P) atoms in auroras. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1980. [DOI: 10.1029/ja085ia02p00687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Fox JL, Dalgarno A. Ionization, luminosity, and heating of the upper atmosphere of Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1979. [DOI: 10.1029/ja084ia12p07315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 254] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Levine JS, McDougal DS, Anderson DE, Barker ES. Atomic Hydrogen on Mars: Measurements at Solar Minimum. Science 1978; 200:1048-51. [PMID: 17740696 DOI: 10.1126/science.200.4345.1048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Copernicus Orbiting Astronomical Observatory was used to obtain measurements of Mars Lyman-alpha (1215.671-angstrom) emission at the solar minimum, which has resulted in the first information on atomic hydrogen concentrations in the upper atmosphere of Mars at the solar minimum. The Copernicus measurements, coupled with the Viking in situ measurements of the temperature (170 degrees +/- 30 degrees K) of the upper atmosphere of Mars, indicate that the atomic hydrogen number density at the exobase of Mars (250 kilometers) is about 60 times greater than that deduced from Mariner 6 and 7 Lyman-alpha measurements obtained during a period of high solar activity. The Copernicus results are consistent with Hunten's hypothesis of the diffusion-limited escape of atomic hydrogen from Mars.
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Abstract
The two Viking missions to Mars have been extraordinarily successful. Thirteen scientific investigations yielded information about the atmosphere and surface. Two orbiters and landers operating for several months photographed the surface extensively from 1500 kilometers and directly on the surface. Measurements were made of the atmospheric composition, the surface elemental abundance, the atmospheric water vapor, temperature of the surface, and meteorological conditions; direct tests were made for organic material and living organisms. The question of life on Mars remains unanswered. The Viking spacecraft are designed to continue the investigations for at least one Mars year.
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Nier AO, McElroy MB. Structure of the Neutral Upper Atmosphere of Mars: Results from Viking 1 and Viking 2. Science 1976; 194:1298-300. [PMID: 17797088 DOI: 10.1126/science.194.4271.1298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Neutral mass spectrometers carried on the aeroshells of Viking 1 and Viking 2 indicate that carbon dioxide is the major constituent of the martian atmosphere over the height range 120 to 200 kilometers. The atmosphere contains detectable concentrations of nitrogen, argon, carbon monoxide, molecular oxygen, atomic oxygen, and nitric oxide. The upper atmosphere exhibits a complex and variable thermal structure and is well mixed to heights in excess of 120 kilometers.
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