Takao Nagatani Surface

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Curiosity has been exploring Gale crater, which once held a body of liquid water

The Oxygen in The Martian air changed in a way that can not currently be explained by known chemical processes.

that is The Claim of scientists on the Curiosity rover mission, the measurements of the gas.

they discovered that the quantity of Oxygen increased in The Martian "air" by 30% in the spring and summer.

The pattern remains a mystery, But researchers are beginning to narrow the possibilities.

While the changes are not on the exclude most likely to be geological in nature, planetary scientists completely, an explanation for the microbial life.

The results of nearly six years of the earth "(three Mars years') worth of data from the Sample Analysis at Mars (Sam) instrument, a mobile chemical laboratory in the belly of the Curiosity rover.

The Scientists measured seasonal changes in the gases fill the air and landed directly on The Surface of the Gale crater on Mars , where curiosity. You have

The Mars atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide (CO2), with smaller quantities of other gases such as molecular nitrogen (N2), argon (Ar), molecular Oxygen (O2) and methane (CH4).

nitrogen and argon followed a predictable seasonal pattern change, depending on how much CO2 was in the air (which, in turn, with changes in pressure). You expect Oxygen to Follow This pattern also, But it is not.

Oxygen increased during each Northern hemisphere spring And Then fell in the autumn.

you considered the possibility that CO2 and water (H2O) molecules, released Oxygen , if you broke up in the atmosphere, leading to a short-lived increase. But it would produce five times more water than it actually is, to the additional Oxygen and CO2 decomposes to create slowly, in such a short period of time.

"We know that Oxygen is created and destroyed on Mars by the energy provided by sunlight to the removal of CO2 and H2O, both of which are observed in the atmosphere of Mars . The Thing that makes no sense, the size of the Variation - it is not the match to see what we expect," Dr. Manish Patel, the Open University - who was not with the study, told Bbc News .

"Given the curiosity makes measurements on The Surface of Mars , it is tempting to believe that this comes from The Surface - But we have no evidence. Geologically seen, it seems Unlikely - I can't think of a process that would Fit . "

The results show a reservoir of Oxygen in the vicinity of The Martian Surface with Dr. Timothy McConnochie, of the University of Maryland in College Park , said as one of the authors of the JGR-planets paper the BBC: "you can measure the water vapor molecules in the atmosphere of Mars and measure The Change in Oxygen . There simply are not enough water molecules.

"Mars is in General a fairly small amount of water vapor, and there are several times more Oxygen atoms, which appear mysteriously, as it is in the water vapor across the planet. "

she wondered why the Oxygen fell back to levels predicted by known chemistry in the fall. One idea was that the solar Radiation could break down Oxygen molecules into two atoms, which then escaped into the room. But , according to the embodiment, the number of scientists concluded that it would take at least 10 years for the Oxygen to disappear.

In addition, the seasonal increases not perfectly repeatable; the amount of Oxygen varies between The Years . The results imply that to produce the throttle slightly, And Then take it away.

Dr. McConnochie thinks The Evidence points to a source of Oxygen in the vicinity of The Surface . "I think that it points in a reservoir (Oxygen ) in The Soil , that the exchange processes with the atmosphere," he said.

"For the exchange (with the atmosphere) fairly quickly on a seasonal time scale, it has to be close to The Surface . If it is deeper, each process is slower," he told Bbc News .

An experiment conducted by The Viking probes in the 1970s, offers tantalizing clues that the Oxygen mystery Some evidence for this comes from, which landed on the Red Planet in the 1970s. Results from The Viking Gas Exchange Experiment (GEX) showed that, when the humidity was increased in a chamber with a sample of Mars soil, it led to a release of Oxygen .

However, according to Dr. McConnochie, the temperature in The Viking space probe chamber was much warmer than outside, even in the spring and summer. This complicates any attempt, the results of the Mars environment: "It is a tempting idea, But it is not help us to solve the problem directly," he explained.

Mars is no longer wet in the spring and summer. Water-ice stored at the poles in winter. Then, throughout the summer, it is a release of water vapor in the polar regions.

There is a relationship between the humidification of the entire planet in This Time and the release of Oxygen could.

Fascinating, the changes in the Oxygen are similar to those seen for methane, the increase in frequency of about 60% in the summer for unexplained reasons. It is unclear whether there is any connection though.

ground-sinkThe methane mystery a lot of attention over The Years has attracted, since most of the earth's methane is from living organisms. Although there are several ways that methane could be released by geological processes on Mars , the production of this gas of life by microbes deep under The Surface remains a tantalizing possibility.

Oxygen can be produced by microorganisms. The possibility that the biology behind the changing levels of the gas in the atmosphere of Mars can not be excluded. But the scientific bar on such claims is very high, in fact.

It is a very remote possibility, But we still do not understand enough about the behaviour of Oxygen as an indicator For Life .

In addition, the near sub-Surface of Mars is a very difficult place To Live , because of The High levels of Radiation , the leakage through The Martian atmosphere, great fluctuations in temperature and limited availability of water.

"With the current instruments on the Mars space ship, we have no way of knowing whether the biology is the production of the spring rise in Oxygen . Abiotic processes, which look very promising, so we must first firmly from the rule, before the microbial contribution," Prof Sushil Atreya, from the University of Michigan, is a co-author said the study, to Bbc News .

But he added that future missions would make to each other measurements might habitability information about Mars .

Dr Manish Patel says that Oxygen can be said for The Last few years in the atmosphere of Mars Dr. Patel: "While I believe that the biological activity in The Martian Surface that is at some point in Mars ' history is a real possibility, there is no way of explaining the Oxygen -producing microbes - us of the plenty of other indicators that would come with missing, together, the.

"Maybe it's hiding everything, But as a scientist I can only comment on what we are watching and with an exceptional claim requires exceptional Observation . "

the concept of Oxygen Locked Up in chemical form in The Martian soil remains much more likely.

", A phenomenon that applies to most of the gas molecules, they stick to surfaces. especially anything with a lot of Surface area. The bonding, the adsorption, the changes on the basis of the temperature," Tim McConnochie explains.

"Oxygen is a very active molecule, it changes into another form and back, then sticks And Then changes again. The tricky thing is, the shapes of the Oxygen that we know of in The Martian soil are those who, quite stable. "

One of these stable molecules of a substance called perchlorate, which is widely used in the Mars soil. It does not give up its Oxygen easily, But it is possible that exposure to high-energy Radiation - cosmic rays, for Example - could be to leave this break, by-products.

A potential product-Hypochlorite - see bleach is less stable and therefore more susceptible to releasing its Oxygen .

"I think we are closer to solving an idea How To get it off the ground, as we said, an idea of how the animals in the ground," Tim McConnochie. But he said: "Probably there are a few-cycle, secretes it. "

Prof Atreya explains: "There are at least three possible abiotic reservoir of Oxygen in The Surface /subsurface of Mars - oxidant in the form of perchlorates; the oxidizing agent in the form of hydrogen peroxide; and the oxidized rocks or hydrated minerals.

"water-rock reactions in The Past or even today, if liquid water is present below The Surface or as the sols, were probably responsible for the third reservoir. "

the authors of The study in JGR-planets that say they are, throw in the problem of The Scientists , the use in The Field , in a bid to expertise from the community as a whole.

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Source of news: bbc.com