Abstract
THE atmosphere of Mars appears to be predominantly undissociated CO2 (refs. 1–3). It was possible by assuming very rapid transport downwards to explain the composition of the upper atmosphere, but a problem remained at lower altitudes. More recent determinations4,5 of the rate of O–CO recombination have, however, given a rate constant two orders of magnitude lower than that used in the calculations for 200 K, the Martian surface temperature. This creates a more severe problem. There are less CO and O2 than can be accounted for by a mechanism of photolysis and recombination.
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PARKES, D. Stability of CO2 in the Martian Atmosphere and under Radiolysis. Nature 241, 110–111 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/241110a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/241110a0
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