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Shrinking the instrument to a mass of less than 15 kg that could fit in a 1’x1’x1’ box on a spacecraft, operate robotically, and survive the rigors of both the journey and the Martian atmosphere presented myriad challenges.
The GC/MS experiment was designed to detect organic compounds, which are the fundamental keys of life. In this process, Martian soil samples were heated to vaporize any organic molecules present, and the resulting gas...
To rebut this assertion, the Viking experiment, test data, and results on Mars are reviewed, and the fallacies in the design, execution, and interpretation of the new experiments presented by Navarro-Gonzalez et al. a...
The Mars viking gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer is described. The system is designed to determine the composition of the Martian atmosphere and detect and identify chemical compounds vaporized or pyrolyzed from th...
Diagram and photo of the GCMS and associated equipment. The Viking gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was a device carried aboard each of the Viking spacecraft landers in order to detect small concentrations ...
However, some scientists haven’t been satisfied with the conclusion and have questioned the ability of the Viking GC/MS to detect organic ma-terial. The questioning finally snowballed this year into a head-on con frontation.
The Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) instrument was designed for NASA's Viking Martian lander. It analyzed Martian soil, pyrolyzing samples in search of organic content.
Current state of GCMS data: The Viking GCMS data exists today as 1) bar graphs on 16-mm microfilm, and 2) full and reduced versions of the data stored as binary data. The digital data (2) is undocumented and unreadabl...
A gas chromatograph – mass spectrometer (GCMS) is a device that separates vapor components chemically via a gas chromatograph and then feeds the result into a mass spectrometer, which measures the molecular weight of ...
To determine the composition of the atmosphere, and whether organic molecules exist in the surface samples, a Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer measured the atomic composition of gas samples from heated soil and the...
