American planetary scientists have revealed the secret of the formation of chlorine in the atmosphere of Mars

The Martian atmosphere is saturated with chlorine under the action of electrical discharges arising from dust storms. It is reported by the University of Washington .

During the European-Russian orbital mission ExoMars-TGO, scientists have repeatedly recorded fluctuations in the chlorine content in the Martian atmosphere. There was no clear explanation for this phenomenon, and the satellite equipment does not allow fixing the source of the gas.

American scientists decided to test one of the hypotheses, according to which the increase in the proportion of chlorine in the atmosphere is associated with dust storms. Atmospheric phenomena of this type are capable of lifting huge clubs of small rock, and due to friction between them, lightning periodically occurs. In particular, dust is formed from carbonates, chlorides and other mineral salts.

During the experiment, scientists created an imitation of the Martian atmosphere in a sealed chamber. Salts characteristic of the Martian soil were also placed inside it, and lightning discharges were simulated. It turned out that under such conditions, an analogue of the Martian soil really releases chlorine. On average, in just a few hours of a medium-strength artificial dust storm, electric shocks released about 0.1-1% of the chlorine atoms present in the soil particles floating in the air.

This is enough to explain the increase in chlorine during the powerful dust storms of 2018-2019, scientists say.

Earlier , NASA  said that private stations do not require a gateway to enter space.

The Martian atmosphere is saturated with chlorine under the action of electrical discharges arising from dust storms. It is reported by the University of Washington .

During the European-Russian orbital mission ExoMars-TGO, scientists have repeatedly recorded fluctuations in the chlorine content in the Martian atmosphere. There was no clear explanation for this phenomenon, and the satellite equipment does not allow fixing the source of the gas.

American scientists decided to test one of the hypotheses, according to which the increase in the proportion of chlorine in the atmosphere is associated with dust storms. Atmospheric phenomena of this type are capable of lifting huge clubs of small rock, and due to friction between them, lightning periodically occurs. In particular, dust is formed from carbonates, chlorides and other mineral salts.

During the experiment, scientists created an imitation of the Martian atmosphere in a sealed chamber. Salts characteristic of the Martian soil were also placed inside it, and lightning discharges were simulated. It turned out that under such conditions, an analogue of the Martian soil really releases chlorine. On average, in just a few hours of a medium-strength artificial dust storm, electric shocks released about 0.1-1% of the chlorine atoms present in the soil particles floating in the air.

This is enough to explain the increase in chlorine during the powerful dust storms of 2018-2019, scientists say.

Earlier , NASA  said that private stations do not require a gateway to enter space.