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[33.15] Methane, Oxides of Hydrogen and Carbon, and their Isotope Ratios: Significance and Measurement on NASA's 2009 Mars Science Lab (MSL) Mission

C. R. Webster (JPL), P. Mahaffy (NASA GSFC), S. Atreya (U. Michigan)

We will summarize the significance of recent observations of methane and hydrogen peroxide on Mars and present our strategy for their in situ measurement using the Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission. The six-channel TLS instrument, with capability for CH4 at the 20 parts-per-trillion level, will be described in detail, including its sensitivities for H2O2, N2O, and stable isotope ratios of 13C/12C, D/H, and 16O/17O/18O. TLS capability will be discussed in context with that of the other suite instruments, the gas chromatograph and quadrupole mass spectrometer. This research was performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with NASA.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.