MSL - SAM and CHEMIN, Discussion of the science/results from these instruments |
MSL - SAM and CHEMIN, Discussion of the science/results from these instruments |
Nov 21 2012, 11:46 AM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 3108 Joined: 21-December 05 From: Canberra, Australia Member No.: 615 |
ADMIN NOTE: Hi All, a new topic for the discussion of the science from the SAM and Chemin instruments.
There has been a very important amendment to Rule 1.3 which is explained here. Please remember Rule 1.3 at all times when discussing matters in this section. |
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Nov 22 2012, 07:35 PM
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#2
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 18 Joined: 17-May 05 From: FL & WV Member No.: 390 |
I have not seen any specific statements from the Curiosity science team regarding the ability of SAM to detect organics if perclorates are present in a soil/rock sample. Since SAM first heats the sample up to a high termperature (e.g., 1000 deg.) to vapaorize the sample, would this not destroy organics if perclorates are also present in that sample? Since we have known about the potential for perclorates in the Martian soil since the Pheonix results reported in 2008, I asume this has been considered in some detail by the Curiosity team. Anyone have any information on what level of perclorates would be sufficient to cause significant problems for SAM being able to detect organics (I assume that would also depend on the level of organics in the sample)?
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Nov 22 2012, 07:43 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2517 Joined: 13-September 05 Member No.: 497 |
I have not seen any specific statements from the Curiosity science team regarding the ability of SAM to detect organics if perclorates are present in a soil/rock sample. Have you read http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-012-9879-z ? QUOTE The presence of perchlorates and other oxidants, if present in the martian soil and rocks at Gale crater, could have implications for the SAM search for organics as some of these compounds could be transformed to CO2 in the oven. If perchlorates are present, a small amount of the organics may form chlorohydrocarbons that could be detected by the SAM GCMS experiment. The presence of perchlorates may also be indicated by O2 , HCl, or Cl2 evolution in a SAM EGA experiment or these compounds may be detected by the ChemCam instrument. Similarly, the presence of high concentration H2 O2 in sediments could manifest itself in the form of formaldehyde or methanol, species that are potentially detectable by SAM. -------------------- Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.
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