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Detecting Organic Compounds in Martian Soil Analogues Using Gas Chromatography Mass SpectrometryOne of the primary objectives of the 1976 Viking missions was to determine whether organic compounds, possibly of biological origin, were present in the Martian surface soils. The Viking gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) instruments found no evidence for any organic compounds of Martian origin above a few parts per billion in the upper 10 cm of surface soil [l], suggesting the absence of a widely distributed Martian biota. However, Benner et d. have suggested that significant amounts of non-volatile organic compounds, possibly including oxidation products of bioorganic molecules (e.g. carboxylic acids) would not have been detected by the Viking GCMS [2]. Moreover, other key organic compounds important to biology, such as amino acids and nucleobases, would also likely have been missed by the Viking GCMS as these compounds require chemical derivatization to be stable in a GC column [3]. Recent pyrolysis experiments with a Mars soil analogue that had been innoculated with Escherichia coli bacteria have shown that amino acid decomposition products (amines) and nucleobases are among the most abundant products generated after pyrolysis of the bacterial cells [4,5]. At the part per billion level (Viking GCMS detection limit), these pyrolysis products generated from several million bacterial cells per gram of Martian soil would not have been detected by the Viking GCMS instruments [4]. Analytical protocols are under development for upcoming in situ lander opportunities to target several important biological compounds including amino acids and nucleobases. For example, extraction and chemical derivatization techniques [3] are being adapted for space flight use to transform reactive or fragile molecules that would not have been detected by the Viking GCMS instruments, into species that are sufficiently volatile to be detected by GCMS. Recent experiments carried out at NASA Goddard have shown that using this derivatization technique all of the targeted compounds mentioned above can be separated on a GC column and detected by MS at sub-picomole (< 10(exp -l2 mole) levels. With these methods, the detection limit for amino acids, carboxylic acids and nucleobases is several orders of magnitude more sensitive than the Viking GCMS instruments for these compounds. Preliminary results using this analytical technique on a variety of Martian soil analogues will be presented.
Document ID
20040171519
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Glavin, D. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Buch, A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mahaffy, P. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Inorganic, Organic And Physical Chemistry
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Astronautical Congress
Location: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Start Date: October 4, 2004
End Date: October 8, 2004
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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