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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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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Feb 2 2013, 09:28 AM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 94 Joined: 11-August 12 Member No.: 6536 |
Yes there is news from SAM and it ain't good. The leak from the wet chemistry cells is far more serious than they let on and as a result the data on organics from Rocknest is useless. They are seeing 100 times as much chloromethanes as Viking did, but the trouble is that all or most of it is coming from the reaction between the wet chem reagent and the perchlorates in the soil. Any Martian signal is completely drowned out. To quote the scientists: "Thus, at this time, while MTBSTFA contamination can explain all of the chlorohydrocarbons observed, we cannot exclude the possibility that traces of martian organics contributed to the chloromethanes measured by SAM."
The MTBSTFA leak looks like a serious problem which is going to reduce SAM's capability to detect Martian organics. Data from here.(pdf) |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 30th April 2024 - 06:27 AM |
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