Detection of Perchlorate and the Soluble Chemistry of Martian Soil at the Phoenix Lander Site

作者：Hecht M H^*; Kounaves S P; Quinn R C; West S J; Young S M M; Ming D W; Catling D C; Clark B C; Boynton W V; Hoffman J; DeFlores L P; Gospodinova K; Kapit J; Smith P H

来源：Science, 2009, 325(5936): 64-67.

DOI：10.1126/science.1172466

The Wet Chemistry Laboratory on the Phoenix Mars Lander performed aqueous chemical analyses of martian soil from the polygon-patterned northern plains of the Vastitas Borealis. The solutions contained similar to 10 mM of dissolved salts with 0.4 to 0.6% perchlorate (ClO(4)) by mass leached from each sample. The remaining anions included small concentrations of chloride, bicarbonate, and possibly sulfate. Cations were dominated by Mg(2+) and Na(+), with small contributions from K(+) and Ca(2+). A moderately alkaline pH of 7.7 +/- 0.5 was measured, consistent with a carbonate-buffered solution. Samples analyzed from the surface and the excavated boundary of the similar to 5-centimeter-deep ice table showed no significant difference in soluble chemistry.

• 出版日期2009-7-3