Abstract
ONE of the puzzling aspects of the Martian atmosphere is the absence of nitrogen or compounds containing nitrogen1. Instead, the atmosphere is found to be CO2 along with smaller amounts of CO and H2O. (ref. 1). One suggestion is that nitrogen atoms gain sufficient energy to escape the gravitational field when N2 undergoes photodissociation with ultraviolet light2. Alternatively, nitrogen may be conserved in compounds in the Martian crust3.
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FERRIS, J., WILLIAMS, E., NICODEM, D. et al. Photolysis of CO-NH3 mixtures and the Martian atmosphere. Nature 249, 437–439 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249437a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249437a0
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