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Venus' Mass Spectra Show Signs of Disequilibria in the Middle Clouds
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  • Rakesh Mogul,
  • Sanjay S. Limaye,
  • Michael Way,
  • Jaime Cordova
Rakesh Mogul
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Sanjay S. Limaye
University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin
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Michael Way
NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies
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Jaime Cordova
University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Abstract

We present a re-examination of mass spectral data obtained from the Pioneer Venus Large Probe Neutral Mass Spectrometer. Our interpretations of differing trace chemical species are suggestive of redox disequilibria in Venus’ middle clouds. Assignments to the data (at 51.3 km) include phosphine, hydrogen sulfide, nitrous acid, nitric acid, carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen cyanide, ethane, and potentially ammonia, chlorous acid, and several tentative PxOy species. All parent ions were predicated upon assignment of corresponding fragmentation products, isotopologues, and atomic species. The data reveal parent ions at varying oxidation states, implying the presence of reducing power in the clouds, and illuminating the potential for chemistries yet to be discovered. When considering the hypothetical habitability of Venus’ clouds, the assignments reveal a potential signature of anaerobic phosphorus metabolism (phosphine), an electron donor for anoxygenic photosynthesis (nitrite), and major constituents of the nitrogen cycle (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and N2).
16 Apr 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 7. 10.1029/2020GL091327