Constraining the source of chlorinated hydrocarbons detected on Mars with the SAM experiment onboard Curiosity
Abstract
Chlorinated compounds highlighted by SAM on Mars could have several origins: from perchlorate and/or MTBSTFA oxidation, from Tenax® degradation with or without presence of perchlorate and/or Martian organics. We have established a list of all the compounds likely to be produced by SAM contamination and compared it with all the compounds detected by SAM.