Scientific value of returning an atmospheric sample from Mars
Whitepaper #159 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: atmospheric/exospheric evolution; life and prebiotic organics; Mars
by Bruce Jakosky, Michael Amato, Sushil Atreya, David Des Marais, Paul Mahaffy, Michael Mumma, Margaret Tolbert, Brian Toon, Chris Webster, and Richard Zurek
Published onMar 18, 2021
Scientific value of returning an atmospheric sample from Mars
A returned gas sample is required in order to address key questions about Mars atmospheric origin and evolution and provide necessary context for returned geological samples. An ambient-pressure sample of ~100 cc volume would provide key measurements of noble gases; a sample compressed to ~0.7 bar is necessary to determine C isotopes in methane.
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