Thesis
Testing the hydrogen peroxide-water hypothesis of life on Mars using the differential scanning calorimeter as an analog for the TEGA instrument on the Mars Phoenix lander
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101696
Abstract
In the time since the Viking life detection experiments were conducted on Mars, many missions have enhanced our knowledge about the environmental conditions on the Red Planet. However, the martian surface chemistry and the Viking lander results remain puzzling. Non-biological explanations that favor a strong inorganic oxidant are currently favored (e.g., Mancinelli, 1989; Plumb et al.,1989; Quinn and Zent, 1999; Klein, 1999, Yen et al., 2000), but problems remain regarding the lifetime, source, and abundance of that oxidant to account for the Viking observations (Zent and McKay, 1994). Alternatively, a hypothesis that favors the biological origin of a strong oxidizer has recently been advanced (Houtkooper and Schulze-Makuch, 2007). Here, we report about laboratory experiments that simulate the experiments to be conducted by the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) instrument of the Phoenix lander, which is to descend on Mars in May 2008. We also report on laboratory experiments involving water activity and hydrogen peroxide solutions. Our experiments provide a baseline for unbiased tests for chemical versus biological responses, which can be applied to the Phoenix mission and future Mars missions.
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Details
- Title
- Testing the hydrogen peroxide-water hypothesis of life on Mars using the differential scanning calorimeter as an analog for the TEGA instrument on the Mars Phoenix lander
- Creators
- Carol Louise Turse
- Contributors
- Dirk Schulze-Makuch (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Environment, School of the (CAHNRS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525173801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis