Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars

Abstract

The atmosphere of Mars is made up of primarily carbon dioxide, and during the Martian year, the barometric pressure is known to cycle up and down substantially as this carbon dioxide freezes out and then is rereleased from polar caps. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has now acquired atmospheric composition measurements at the ground over multiple years, capturing the variations in the major gases over several seasonal cycles for the first time. With the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, the annual average composition in Gale Crater was measured as 95.1% carbon dioxide, 2.59% nitrogen, 1.94% argon, 0.161% oxygen, and 0.058% carbon monoxide. However, the abundances of some of these gases were observed to vary up to 40% throughout the year due to the seasonal cycle.