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Detection of Methane in the Atmosphere of Mars

Encrenaz, Thérèse; Formisano, Vittorio; Giuranna, Marco +2 more

We report a detection of methane in the martian atmosphere by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer onboard the Mars Express spacecraft. The global average methane mixing ratio is found to be 10 +/- 5 parts per billion by volume (ppbv). However, the mixing ratio varies between 0 and 30 ppbv over the planet. The source of methane could be either bioge…

Solar Wind-Induced Atmospheric Erosion at Mars: First Results from ASPERA-3 on Mars Express

Kallio, E.; Fedorov, A.; Budnik, E. +42 more

The Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA) on board the Mars Express spacecraft found that solar wind plasma and accelerated ionospheric ions may be observed all the way down to the Mars Express pericenter of 270 kilometers above the dayside planetary surface. This is very deep in the ionosphere, implying direct exposure of the mart…