The Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) is an infrared spectrometer built by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (Italian National Institute for Astrophysics) along with the Istituto di Fisica dello spazio Interplanetario and the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italian National Research Counci). Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of A spectrometer is an Optical instrument used to measure properties of Light over a specific portion of the Electromagnetic spectrum, typically used L'Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica or INAF ( National Institute for Astrophysics) for short is an Italian Scientific institution conducting research The Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR "Italian National Research Council" is an Italian public organization with the aim of supporting scientific and technological The instrument is currently used by the European Space Agency on both the Mars Express Mission and the Venus Express Mission. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member Mars Express is a Space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. It consists of four units which together weigh around 31. 4 kg, including a pointing device, a power supply, a control unit, and an interferometer with electronics. [1] The main objective of the instrument is to study the chemical composition of a planet's atmosphere through the infrared radiation that is reflected and emitted by the planet.
On March of 2004, Professor Vittorio Formisano, the researcher in charge of the Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer, announced the discovery of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Events in March American Red Cross Month Fire Prevention month ( The Philippines) Women's History Month ( United "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Methane is a Chemical compound with the molecular formula. It is the simplest Alkane, and the principal component of Natural gas. However, methane cannot persist in the Martian atmosphere for more than a few hundred years since it can be broken down by sunlight. Thus, this discovery suggests that the methane is being continually replenished by some unidentified volcanic or geologic process, or that some kind of extremophile life form similar to some existing on Earth is metabolising carbon dioxide and hydrogen and producing methane. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the An extremophile is an Organism that thrives in and may even require Physically or Geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to the Metabolism is the set of Chemical reactions that occur in living Organisms in order to maintain Life. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 [2]In July 2004, rumours began to circulate that Formisano would announce the discovery of ammonia at an upcoming conference. Ammonia is a compound with the formula N[[hydrogen H3]] It is normally encountered as a Gas with a characteristic pungent Odor It later came to light that none had been found; in fact some noted that the PFS was not precise enough to distinguish ammonia from carbon dioxide anyway. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single [3]
References
- ^ PFS: Planetary Fourier Spectrometer. ESA. Retrieved on Auguest 31, 2006.
- ^ Martian gases poses life question. BBC News. Retrieved on Auguest 31, 2006.
- ^ The search for life on Mars. Nature.com. Retrieved on March 19, 2006.
External links
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