Herschel/HIFI observations of Mars: first detection of O₂ at submillimetre wavelengths and upper limits on HCl and H₂O₂

P. Hartogh , C. Jarchow , E. Lellouch , M. de Val-Borro , M. Rengel , R. Moreno , A. S. Medvedev , H. Sagawa

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B. M. Swinyard T. Cavali\'e D. C. Lis M. I. B{\l}\k{e}cka M. Banaszkiewicz D. Bockel\'ee-Morvan J. Crovisier T. Encrenaz M. K\"uppers L.-M. Lara S. Szutowicz B. Vandenbussche F. Bensch E. A. Bergin F. Billebaud N. Biver G. A. Blake J. A. D. L. Blommaert J. Cernicharo L. Decin P. Encrenaz H. Feuchtgruber T. Fulton T. de Graauw E. Jehin M. Kidger R. Lorente D. A. Naylor G. Portyankina M. S\'anchez-Portal R. Schieder S. Sidher N. Thomas E. Verdugo C. Waelkens N. Whyborn D. Teyssier F. Helmich P. Roelfsema J. Stutzki H. G. LeDuc J. A. Stern

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classification 🌌 astro-ph.EP

keywords constantherschelhifihydrogenlimitsmixingobservationsratio

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We report on an initial analysis of Herschel/HIFI observations of hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen peroxide (H_2O_2), and molecular oxygen (O_2) in the Martian atmosphere performed on 13 and 16 April 2010 (L_s ~ 77{\deg}). We derived a constant volume mixing ratio of 1400 +/- 120 ppm for O_2 and determined upper limits of 200 ppt for HCl and 2 ppb for H_2O_2. Radiative transfer model calculations indicate that the vertical profile of O_2 may not be constant. Photochemical models determine the lowest values of H_2O_2 to be around L_s ~ 75{\deg} but overestimate the volume mixing ratio compared to our measurements.

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Herschel/HIFI observations of Mars: first detection of O₂ at submillimetre wavelengths and upper limits on HCl and H₂O₂

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