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Isotopic fractionation of water and its photolytic products in the atmosphere of Mars

Montmessin, Franck; Belyaev, Denis A.; Fedorova, Anna A. +13 more

The current Martian atmosphere is about five times more enriched in deuterium than Earth's, providing direct testimony that Mars hosted vastly more water in its early youth than nowadays. Estimates of the total amount of water lost to space from the current mean D/H value depend on a rigorous appraisal of the relative escape between deuterated and…