在火星大气层中检测到甲
Vittorio Formisano1, Sushil Atreya, Thérèse Encrenaz
1Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario INAF-IFSI, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy. formisan@nike.ifsi.rm.cnr.it
概括
在火星大气层中已经检测到甲,其水平在整个星球上有很大的差异. 这一发现为火星甲的生物和地质来源提供了新的可能性.
科学领域:
- 星球科学 星球科学
- 天体生物学 天体生物学
- 大气中的化学成分
背景情况:
- 甲是一种潜在的生物签名气体.
- 以前在火星上发现甲的检测是暂时的.
- 了解甲来源是评估火星可居住性的关键.
研究的目的:
- 报告在火星大气层中检测到甲.
- 量化甲的全球平均值和变化.
- 讨论火星甲的潜在来源.
主要方法:
- 在火星快速航天器上利用了行星里埃光谱仪 (PFS).
- 分析光谱数据以识别和量化甲吸收特征.
- 绘制了火星表面的甲分布图.
主要成果:
- 证实了火星大气中甲的存在.
- 确定全球平均甲混合率为10 +/- 5个十亿体积分 (ppbv).
- 观察到显著的空间变化,混合比在0到30ppbv之间.
结论:
- 检测到的甲表明火星上正在进行地质或潜在的生物活动.
- 潜在的来源包括微生物生命,热水过程或外星冲击.
- 需要进一步调查以确定火星甲的来源.
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