Abstract
PRELIMINARY results of the Viking Lander 1 (VL-1) biology experiments1 revealed that humidification of the martian soil sample in the gas exchange experiment (GEX) released substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and oxygen, as well as detectable amounts of nitrogen and argon or carbon monoxide. We have reviewed the available flight data and found that, when the amounts of evolved gases were plotted in an adsorption potential plot, the amount of evolved oxygen was anomalously high compared to the other gases. This paper also describes simulation experiments with a model Mars soil provided by the Viking Inorganic Analysis Team (ICAT) and treated with a radiofrequency (RF) glow discharge in a simulated martian atmosphere. The findings indicated that the GEX simulation procedure released oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen in amounts comparable to that seen in the experiment on Mars.
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