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Martian
Chemistry
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Primary
goal of Viking missions was to look for evidence of life
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Three
sets of experiments involving Martian soil
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Gas
exchange -- breathing
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Labeled
release -- metabolism
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Pyrolytic
release -- photosynthesis
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Some
gas and water was added to the soil to stimulate growth
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RESULTS:
Martian soil fizzes when wet
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fizzing
a sign of strong chemical reactions
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difficult
to detect delicate biological processes
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soil
composition probably hostile to water-based microbial life
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no
organic compounds detected on surface
Rock
lunch anyone?
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